Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 31

The Description of the Caturdaśī Vrata Observed throughout the Twelve Months

Devanagari script

शय्यां सोपस्करां धेनुं प्रतिमां च द्विजोत्तम । प्रदद्याद्गुरवे भक्त्या द्विजानन्यांश्चतुर्दश ॥ ३१ ॥

Transliteration

śayyāṃ sopaskarāṃ dhenuṃ pratimāṃ ca dvijottama | pradadyādgurave bhaktyā dvijānanyāṃścaturdaśa || 31 ||

Translation

အို ဒွိဇောတ္တမ၊ ဘက္တိဖြင့် ဂုရုထံသို့ ပစ္စည်းပြည့်စုံသော အိပ်ရာ၊ နွားတစ်ကောင်နှင့် ပုံတော် (ပရတိမာ) ကို ပေးလှူရမည်။ ထို့ပြင် အခြား ဘြာဟ္မဏ ၁၄ ယောက်ကိုလည်း ဒါန ပေးရမည်။

Word by Word

• शय्याम्: a bed
• शय्याम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शय्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• सोपस्कराम्: with furnishings/with accessories
• सोपस्कराम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + उपस्कर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; विशेषण (qualifier) of शय्याम्

• धेनुम्: a cow
• धेनुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• प्रतिमाम्: an image/idol
• प्रतिमाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of Brahmins
• द्विजोत्तम: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रदद्यात्: should give
• प्रदद्यात्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; Optative, Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular

• गुरवे: to the teacher
• गुरवे: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Masculine, Dative (4th), Singular

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Feminine, Instrumental (3rd), Singular

• द्विजान्: Brahmins
• द्विजान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• अन्यान्: other
• अन्यान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural; विशेषण of द्विजान्

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण; अव्ययवत्/अविकारी प्रयोग (numeral used adjectivally) qualifying द्विजान्

Speaker

Narada (teaching within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue framework)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Guru
• Dwijas (Brahmanas)

FAQs

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

It frames charity (dāna) as a devotional act: honoring the guru first, then supporting worthy Brahmanas, thereby aligning ritual giving with humility, gratitude, and dharma.

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

Bhakti is expressed as reverent service—giving “with devotion” (bhaktyā) to the guru, treating offerings not as transactions but as worshipful dedication.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It reflects Kalpa (ritual procedure) through a specific dāna prescription—what items to give, to whom (guru and Brahmanas), and the devotional attitude required.