Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 89
Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
पुमान्न देवो न नरो न पशुर्न च पादपः । शरीराकृतिभेदास्तु भूपैते कर्मयोनयः ॥ ८९ ॥
pumānna devo na naro na paśurna ca pādapaḥ | śarīrākṛtibhedāstu bhūpaite karmayonayaḥ || 89 ||
Diri sejati itu pada hakikatnya bukan dewa, bukan manusia, bukan binatang, bahkan bukan tumbuhan. Wahai raja, semuanya hanyalah perbezaan bentuk jasad, lahir daripada rahim karma, punca kepada penjelmaan.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada; addressing a king as 'bhūpa')
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It teaches dehātīta-jñāna: the true Self is not any species or status; “god, human, animal, plant” are karma-produced bodily labels, and liberation begins by disidentifying from them.
By shifting identity from body to the inner Self, a devotee can offer bhakti with humility and steadiness—seeing all beings as embodied by karma while directing devotion to the Lord beyond bodily categories.
The verse is primarily moksha-dharma (not a technical Vedanga instruction), but it supports dharmic practice by grounding ethics and ritual in right understanding: varna/species distinctions are bodily and karma-based, not the Self.