Previous Verse
Next Verse

Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43

Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’

सर्वलोकोपकरणं बभूवाहारवेतनः । तं तादृशमसंस्कारं विप्राकृतिविचेष्टितम् ॥ ४३ ॥

sarvalokopakaraṇaṃ babhūvāhāravetanaḥ | taṃ tādṛśamasaṃskāraṃ viprākṛtiviceṣṭitam || 43 ||

Dia menjadi seorang hamba yang berguna bagi semua orang, bekerja hanya dengan upah berupa makanan. Namun dia tetap tanpa penyucian dan didikan (saṁskāra), tidak halus budi, dan bertingkah laku tidak selayaknya bagi seorang brāhmaṇa menurut fitrahnya.

sarva-loka-upakaraṇama tool/means for all people
sarva-loka-upakaraṇam:
Karma (कर्म) / predicate complement with babhūva
TypeNoun
Rootsarva (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + upakaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNapुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/ द्वितीयā (Nom./Acc.), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘sarveṣāṃ lokānām upakaraṇam’ (instrument/means for all people)
babhūvabecame
babhūva:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√bhū (धातु)
FormLaṅ (Imperfect), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada
āhāra-vetanaḥone whose pay was food
āhāra-vetanaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता) of babhūva (implied ‘he’) / appositional epithet
TypeNoun
Rootāhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vetana (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘āhāraḥ vetanam yasya’ (whose wage is food) (sense close to bahuvrīhi usage, but form used as noun/epithet)
tamhim
tam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana; pronoun
tādṛśamsuch; of that kind
tādṛśam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
TypeAdjective
Roottādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agrees with tam
asaṃskāramuncultured; unrefined
asaṃskāram:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
TypeAdjective
Rootasaṃskāra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; ‘uncultured/without refinement’; agrees with tam
vipra-ākṛti-viceṣṭitamacting like a brahmin in appearance/behavior
vipra-ākṛti-viceṣṭitam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of tam
TypeAdjective
Rootvipra (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (कृदन्त, क्त from √ceṣṭ)
FormPuṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; PPP (क्त) from √ceṣṭ (चेष्ट्) ‘to act’; tatpuruṣa: ‘viprākṛtyā viceṣṭitam’ (acting with a brahmin-like appearance/behavior)

Narada (in dialogue context with the Sanatkumara brothers)

Vrata: none

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

FAQs

It warns that mere birth or outward identity is not enough—without saṃskāra (refining disciplines) and proper conduct, one falls into spiritually unwholesome behavior, obstructing dharma and moksha.

Bhakti requires inner purification and sādhana-supported character; this verse highlights that a life driven only by subsistence, without refinement and discipline, weakens the sattvic foundation needed for steady devotion.

It emphasizes saṃskāra and sadācāra as practical dharmic training—closely aligned with Kalpa (ritual discipline) and Śikṣā/Vyākaraṇa as markers of cultured, regulated brāhmaṇa conduct, even though no specific Vedanga is named.