Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
सनक उवाच । एवं कर्मपाशनियंत्रितजंततवः स्वर्गादिपुण्यस्थानेषु पुण्यभोगमनुभूय यातीव दुःखतरं पापफलमनुभूय प्रक्षीणकर्मा वशेषेणामुं लोकमागत्य सर्वभयविह्वलेषु मृत्युबाधासंयुतेषुस्थावरादिषु जायते । वृक्षगुल्मलतावल्लीगिरयश्च तृणानि च । स्थावरा इति विख्याता महामोहसमावृताः ॥ १ ॥
sanaka uvāca | evaṃ karmapāśaniyaṃtritajaṃtatavaḥ svargādipuṇyasthāneṣu puṇyabhogamanubhūya yātīva duḥkhataraṃ pāpaphalamanubhūya prakṣīṇakarmā vaśeṣeṇāmuṃ lokamāgatya sarvabhayavihvaleṣu mṛtyubādhāsaṃyuteṣusthāvarādiṣu jāyate | vṛkṣagulmalatāvallīgirayaśca tṛṇāni ca | sthāvarā iti vikhyātā mahāmohasamāvṛtāḥ || 1 ||
Sanaka berkata: Demikianlah makhluk yang terikat dan digerakkan oleh jerat karma menikmati buah kebajikan di syurga dan tempat-tempat pahala yang lain; kemudian mereka menanggung hasil dosa yang jauh lebih menyakitkan. Setelah karma mereka habis, mereka kembali ke dunia ini dan lahir dalam golongan yang tidak bergerak—diliputi segala ketakutan dan dihimpit belenggu kematian. Pokok, semak, menjalar, gunung-ganang dan rumput disebut “yang tidak bergerak”, diselubungi oleh kealpaan besar.
Sanaka
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna (compassion)
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
FAQs
It frames saṁsāra as a karma-driven cycle: merit yields temporary heavenly enjoyment, sin yields intense suffering, and once those results are spent the jīva returns to embodied existence—sometimes even as “sthāvara” (immobile life), indicating deep obscuration by mahāmoha (great delusion).
While bhakti is not named here, the verse sets the problem bhakti solves: bondage to karmapāśa and repeated births. In Narada Purana’s broader teaching, devotion to Viṣṇu is presented as a liberating discipline that transcends mere karmic reward (svarga) and aims at freedom from the cycle itself.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical and dharmic: actions (karma) have precise results (phala), so one should regulate conduct and adopt purifying disciplines to avoid downward rebirth.