Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 38
The Greatness of Viṣṇu
Uttaṅka’s Hymn, Hari’s Manifestation, and the Boon of Bhakti
संसारसिन्धौ पतितं कदर्यं मोहाकुलं कामशतेन बद्धम् । अकीर्तिभाजं पिशुनं कृतघ्नं सदाशुचिं पापरतं प्रमन्युम् । दयाम्बुधे पाहि भयाकुलं मां पुनः पुनस्त्वां शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥ ३८ ॥
saṃsārasindhau patitaṃ kadaryaṃ mohākulaṃ kāmaśatena baddham | akīrtibhājaṃ piśunaṃ kṛtaghnaṃ sadāśuciṃ pāparataṃ pramanyum | dayāmbudhe pāhi bhayākulaṃ māṃ punaḥ punastvāṃ śaraṇaṃ prapadye || 38 ||
ਸੰਸਾਰ-ਸਿੰਧੂ ਵਿੱਚ ਡਿੱਗਿਆ ਮੈਂ ਦीन, ਮੋਹ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਆਕੁਲ, ਸੌ ਇੱਛਾਵਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਬੱਝਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹਾਂ। ਅਪਕੀਰਤੀ ਦਾ ਭਾਗੀ, ਦੁਰਾਚਾਰੀ, ਕ੍ਰਿਤਘਨ, ਸਦਾ ਅਸ਼ੁਚਿ, ਪਾਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਤ ਅਤੇ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਫੂਲਿਆ—ਹੇ ਦਇਆ-ਸਮੁੰਦਰ! ਭੈ ਨਾਲ ਘਿਰੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਓ; ਮੈਂ ਮੁੜ ਮੁੜ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਸ਼ਰਨ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ।
Narada (as a supplicant within the teaching dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It models śaraṇāgati (repeated surrender): the devotee honestly confesses inner faults—desire, impurity, pride—and seeks protection from the “ocean of compassion,” emphasizing that grace rescues one from the saṃsāra-sindhu.
Bhakti is expressed as humble self-assessment and continual refuge-taking (punaḥ punaḥ śaraṇaṃ prapadye). The verse frames devotion less as self-powered merit and more as reliance on the Lord’s dayā (compassion).
No specific Vedāṅga technique (śikṣā, vyākaraṇa, jyotiṣa, etc.) is taught here; the practical takeaway is devotional discipline—repeated surrender, repentance, and turning away from kāma (desire) and pāpa (sin).