Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 77

Yuga-Dharma Framework, Kali-Yuga Diagnosis, and the Hari-Nāma Remedy

Transition to Vedānta Inquiry

Devanagari script

कंदपर्णफलाहारास्तापंसा इव मानवाः । आत्मानं तारयिष्यंति अनावृष्ट्यातिदुखिताः ॥ ७७ ॥

Transliteration

kaṃdaparṇaphalāhārāstāpaṃsā iva mānavāḥ | ātmānaṃ tārayiṣyaṃti anāvṛṣṭyātidukhitāḥ || 77 ||

Translation

မိုးမရွာခြင်းကြောင့် အလွန်ဒုက္ခခံရသော လူတို့သည် တပသီတို့ကဲ့သို့ အမြစ်၊ အရွက်၊ အသီးတို့ကိုသာ စားသောက်ကာ မိမိကိုယ်ကို ထိန်းသိမ်း၍ ကယ်တင်ကြမည်။

Word by Word

• कन्द-पर्ण-फल-आहाराः: having food of roots, leaves, and fruits
• कन्द-पर्ण-फल-आहाराः: कर्तृ-विशेषण
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषसमासः (sense: ‘कन्दपर्णफलानि आहारः येषाम्’); here used adjectivally for humans

• तापसाः: ascetics
• तापसाः: उपमान (comparison term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• इव: like
• इव: सम्बन्ध/उपमा-सूचक
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• मानवाः: people
• मानवाः: कर्ता (कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• आत्मानम्: themselves
• आत्मानम्: कर्म (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• तारयिष्यन्ति: will save / will deliver
• तारयिष्यन्ति: क्रिया (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तॄ (धातु) causative √तारय् (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रयोग (causative), लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अनावृष्टि-अति-दुःखिताः: extremely distressed by drought
• अनावृष्टि-अति-दुःखिताः: कर्तृ-विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनावृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + अति (अव्यय/उपसर्गभाव) + दुःखित (कृदन्त; √दुःख्/दुःख् भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः: ‘अनावृष्ट्या अति दुःखिताः’

Speaker

Nārada (describing conditions to the Sanatkumāra tradition in the discourse)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

FAQs

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

It frames drought as a circumstance that pushes society toward tapas-like restraint, showing that self-control and simplicity can preserve life and dharma even amid collective hardship.

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

Indirectly, it supports bhakti by emphasizing austerity and reduced dependence on pleasures; such restraint steadies the mind, making devotional remembrance and prayer easier during crisis.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

No specific Vedāṅga is taught in this verse; it is primarily a dharmic-practical instruction about diet and conduct during anāvṛṣṭi rather than a technical exposition of śikṣā, vyākaraṇa, or jyotiṣa.