Shloka 141

Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वा नारायणाद् दिव्यां नारदो भगवानृषिः / गौतमाय ददौ पूर्वं तस्माच्चैव पराशरः

Transliteration

śrutvā nārāyaṇād divyāṃ nārado bhagavānṛṣiḥ / gautamāya dadau pūrvaṃ tasmāccaiva parāśaraḥ

Translation

ନାରାୟଣଙ୍କଠାରୁ ଦିବ୍ୟ ଉପଦେଶ ଶୁଣି, ଭଗବାନ୍ ଋଷି ନାରଦ ପ୍ରଥମେ ଗୌତମଙ୍କୁ ଦେଲେ; ତାଙ୍କଠାରୁ ହିଁ ପରାଶର ମଧ୍ୟ (ଗ୍ରହଣ କରି ପ୍ରସାର କଲେ)।

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘having heard’

• नारायणात्: from Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणात्: Apadana (अपादान/Ablative-source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन; ablative ‘from Nārāyaṇa’

• दिव्याम्: divine
• दिव्याम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; qualifies (understood) ‘kathām/vidyām/ājñām’

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• भगवान्: venerable/divine
• भगवान्: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; epithet of नारदः

• ऋषिः: sage
• ऋषिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; in apposition to नारदः

• गौतमाय: to Gautama
• गौतमाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/Dative-recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौतम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th case), एकवचन; dative ‘to Gautama’

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-नपुंसक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb: ‘formerly/earlier’)

• तस्मात्: from him/thereafter
• तस्मात्: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन; ‘from him/thereafter’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• पराशरः: Parāśara
• पराशरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पराशर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Kurma Purana’s sage-to-sage transmission frame (Paramparā description)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Nārada
• Gautama
• Parāśara

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by grounding the teaching in Nārāyaṇa as the divine source, it affirms that the highest knowledge (often concerning Ātman/Iśvara) is apauruṣeya-like in authority—received through realized sages and preserved by paramparā.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is named in this verse; it establishes the legitimacy of the Kurma Purana’s Yoga-śāstra instructions (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline) by tracing them to Nārāyaṇa and a recognized rishi lineage.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

By presenting Nārāyaṇa as the fountainhead of the ‘divine teaching’ that later supports the Purāṇa’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, it frames sectarian teachings as harmonized within a single authoritative divine source transmitted by sages.