Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 99

Graha–Ketu–Utpāta Lakṣaṇas: Solar/Lunar Omens, Comets, Eclipses, and Calendar Rules

Devanagari script

मणिहारस्तु वर्णाभा दीप्तिमंतोऽकसूनवः । केतवश्चोदिताः पूर्वापरयोर्नृपहानिदाः ॥ ९९ ॥

Transliteration

maṇihārastu varṇābhā dīptimaṃto'kasūnavaḥ | ketavaścoditāḥ pūrvāparayornṛpahānidāḥ || 99 ||

Translation

ရတနာပန်းကုံးကဲ့သို့သော ဟာလိုအလင်းရောင်သည် တောက်ပထွန်းလင်း၍၊ နေရောင်သားများဟု ဆိုသော ကေတုတို့လည်း ပေါ်ထွက်လှုပ်ရှားလာသည်။ အရှေ့ သို့မဟုတ် အနောက်ဘက်တွင် မြင်ရလျှင်၊ မင်းတို့၏ အင်အားကျဆင်းမှုကို ဖြစ်စေသော နိမိတ်ဖြစ်၏။

Word by Word

• मणिहारः: a necklace of gems
• मणिहारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि + हार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'मणीनां हारः'

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• वर्णाभाः: having colored radiance
• वर्णाभाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्ण + आभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'वर्णस्य आभा' (having color-lustre)

• दीप्तिमन्तः: luminous
• दीप्तिमन्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीप्ति + मन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive adjective)

• अकसूनवः: sons of Aka
• अकसूनवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक + सूनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'अकस्य सूनवः' (sons of Aka)

• केतवः: comets/ketus
• केतवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

• उदिताः: arisen/appeared
• उदिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + इ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'उदित' = arisen/appeared

• पूर्वापरयोः: of the east and the west
• पूर्वापरयोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन; 'पूर्वस्य च अपरस्य च'

• नृपहानिदाः: causing loss of kings
• नृपहानिदाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नृप + हानि + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'नृपाणां हानिं ददाति'

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Surya

FAQs

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

It frames celestial phenomena as karmic indicators (nimittas) that mirror collective dharma: when ominous signs arise, rulers should intensify righteous governance, charity, and ritual rectification rather than ignore the warning.

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

Indirectly: the verse warns of instability in worldly power, nudging the listener toward detachment and refuge in Bhagavan; devotion becomes the stable anchor when external signs foretell decline.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Jyotiṣa (Vedanga astrology): observation of ketu/comet-like phenomena and directional placement (east/west) as predictive omens used in statecraft and religious decision-making.