Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 74

Dharmānukathana

Narration of Dharma

Devanagari script

महापातकयुक्तो वा युक्तो वाप्युपपातकैः । जलदो मुच्यते तेभ्य इत्याह कमलोद्भवः ॥ ७४ ॥

Transliteration

mahāpātakayukto vā yukto vāpyupapātakaiḥ | jalado mucyate tebhya ityāha kamalodbhavaḥ || 74 ||

Translation

မဟာပာတက (mahāpātaka) ကြီးမားသော အပြစ်ရှိသူဖြစ်စေ၊ အုပပာတက (upapātaka) အပြစ်ငယ်များနှင့်ပင် ပတ်သက်နေသူဖြစ်စေ၊ ရေကို လှူဒါန်းသူသည် ထိုအပြစ်များမှ လွတ်မြောက်သည်ဟု ကမလောဒ္ဘဝ (ဗြဟ္မာ) က ကြေညာသည်။

Word by Word

• महापातकयुक्तः: tainted with great sins
• महापातकयुक्तः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of जलदः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातकयुक्त (प्रातिपदिक; महा + पातक + युक्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (महापातकैः युक्तः = associated with great sins)

• वा: or
• वा: समुच्चय/विकल्प (Alternative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• युक्तः: associated (with)
• युक्तः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of जलदः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त (प्रातिपदिक; युज् धातु से क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP)

• वा: or
• वा: समुच्चय/विकल्प (Alternative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

• उपपातकैः: with minor sins
• उपपातकैः: सह/करण (Association/Instrument; with minor sins)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपपातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन

• जलदः: the giver of water
• जलदः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलद (प्रातिपदिक; जल + द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (जलस्य दाता)

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (is released)

• तेभ्यः: from those (sins)
• तेभ्यः: अपादान (Apādāna/Source; from them)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), बहुवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्यसमाप्ति/उद्धरण (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्यय

• आह: said
• आह: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्/ब्रू (धातु; आह = परोक्षभूत/लिट्-रूप)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• कमलोद्भवः: the lotus-born (Brahmā)
• कमलोद्भवः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; of आह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमलोद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; कमल + उद्भव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कमलात् उद्भवः = born from the lotus)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (teaching Narada; citing Brahma as authority)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Brahma (Kamalodbhava)

FAQs

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

It elevates jaladāna (the gift of water) as a powerful purifying act, teaching that compassionate charity can reduce even heavy karmic burdens when performed as dharma.

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

While the verse speaks in the language of expiation, it supports bhakti-oriented living by stressing selfless service and relief to beings—acts typically offered to the Divine as worship through compassion.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It aligns with Dharmaśāstra-style prayāścitta principles (ritual-ethical expiation): specific dāna acts—here, water-giving—are prescribed as practical means for pāpa-śamana (sin-reduction).