Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 67

Anūcāna (True Learning), the Vedāṅgas, and Śikṣā: Svara, Sāmavedic Chant, and Gandharva Theory

Devanagari script

चतुर्थः षङ्ज इत्याहुः पंचमो धैवतो भवेत् । षष्ठो निषादो विज्ञेयः सप्तमः पंचमः स्मृतः ॥ ६० ॥

Transliteration

caturthaḥ ṣaṅja ityāhuḥ paṃcamo dhaivato bhavet | ṣaṣṭho niṣādo vijñeyaḥ saptamaḥ paṃcamaḥ smṛtaḥ || 60 ||

Translation

စတုတ္ထသံကို ရှဒ္ဇ (Ṣaḍja) ဟု ခေါ်ကြ၏။ ပဉ္စမသံသည် ဓိုင်ဝတ (Dhaivata) ဖြစ်၏။ ဆဋ္ဌမသံကို နိသာဒ (Niṣāda) ဟု သိမှတ်ရမည်။ သတ္တမသံကို ပဉ္စမ (Pañcama) ဟု မှတ်ယူကြ၏။

Word by Word

• चतुर्थः: the fourth
• चतुर्थः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: ‘the fourth [note]’)

• षड्जः: Ṣaḍja (Sa)
• षड्जः: विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड्ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (षट् + ज)

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-समाप्तिसूचक (quotative particle)

• आहुः: they say
• आहुः: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्/आह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपद

• पञ्चमः: the fifth
• पञ्चमः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: ‘the fifth [note]’)

• धैवतः: Dhaivata (Dha)
• धैवतः: विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धैवत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भवेत्: would be / should be
• भवेत्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• षष्ठः: the sixth
• षष्ठः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: ‘the sixth [note]’)

• निषादः: Niṣāda (Ni)
• निषादः: विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निषाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विज्ञेयः: is to be known/should be understood
• विज्ञेयः: विधेय/कर्मणि (Predicate; to-be-known)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + ज्ञा (धातु) + यत् (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/future passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (predicative)

• सप्तमः: the seventh
• सप्तमः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (elliptic: ‘the seventh [note]’)

• पञ्चमः: Pañcama (Pa)
• पञ्चमः: विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (note-name used substantively)

• स्मृतः: is said/considered
• स्मृतः: विधेय/कर्मणि (Predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in a technical-śāstra context)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: none

FAQs

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

It links spiritual practice to precision in sacred sound: correct knowledge of svara/nāda supports accurate chanting and disciplined transmission of Vedic learning, which is treated as a limb of dharma.

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

Indirectly: bhakti is strengthened when hymns and names are recited correctly. This verse emphasizes the technical foundation (sound and note-knowledge) that preserves the purity of devotional recitation.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Śikṣā (Vedic phonetics/intonation) and nāda-svara classification—practical guidance for accurate chanting, musical-phonetic mapping, and disciplined oral preservation.