Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 45

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

Devanagari script

बभूवेक्षुमतीतीरे कपिलर्षेर्वराश्रमम् । श्रेयः किमत्र संसारे दुःखप्राये नृणामिति ॥ ४५ ॥

Transliteration

babhūvekṣumatītīre kapilarṣervarāśramam | śreyaḥ kimatra saṃsāre duḥkhaprāye nṛṇāmiti || 45 ||

Translation

Di tebing Sungai Ikṣumatī berdirilah āśrama yang mulia milik Ṛṣi Kapila. Lalu dia merenung: “Dalam putaran saṁsāra ini yang kebanyakannya duka, apakah kebaikan sejati bagi manusia?”

Word by Word

• babhūva: came to be; reached
• babhūva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ (Imperfect), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

• ikṣumatī-tīre: on the bank of (the river) Ikṣumatī
• ikṣumatī-tīre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ikṣumatī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Saptamī (Locative), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘ikṣumatyāḥ tīre’ (on the bank of Ikṣumatī river)

• kapila-ṛṣeḥ: of sage Kapila
• kapila-ṛṣeḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (genitive) to āśramam
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapila (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘kapilaḥ ṛṣiḥ’ (sage Kapila) in genitive

• vara-āśramam: the excellent hermitage
• vara-āśramam: Karma (कर्म) (object of babhūva ‘reached’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (Accusative), Ekavacana; karmadhāraya: ‘varaḥ āśramaḥ’ (excellent hermitage)

• śreyaḥ: the good; welfare
• śreyaḥ: Karma (कर्म) / विषय (topic) in quoted thought
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/द्वितीयā (Nom./Acc.), Ekavacana; ‘the good/the best’

• kim: what?
• kim: Praśna (interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/द्वितीयā, Ekavacana; interrogative pronoun

• atra: here; in this
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (adverbial locus)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (देशवाचक) ‘here/in this’

• saṃsāre: in worldly existence
• saṃsāre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī (Locative), Ekavacana

• duḥkha-prāye: mostly filled with suffering
• duḥkha-prāye: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of saṃsāre
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘duḥkha-prāyaḥ’ (mostly full of suffering) agreeing with saṃsāre

• nṛṇām: of men; of people
• nṛṇām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyānta-bodhaka (quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग) marking end of thought/quotation

Speaker

Narada (narrating/reflecting within the Moksha-dharma discourse)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Kapila
• Ikṣumatī (river)

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It frames the Moksha-dharma mood: recognizing saṃsāra as duḥkha-prāya (largely sorrowful) and turning the mind toward śreyas—the lasting good—symbolized by approaching a great sage’s āśrama.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

By questioning worldly “good” in a suffering-filled saṃsāra, the verse prepares the seeker to adopt a higher refuge; in the Narada Purana’s Moksha context, this inner disillusionment commonly matures into seeking Bhagavān’s shelter through bhakti and surrender.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught directly; the practical takeaway is sādhana-priority—seeking guidance in a sat-āśrama and cultivating viveka (discernment) and vairāgya (detachment) as prerequisites for higher dharma.