Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
सनक उवाच । एवं कर्मपाशनियंत्रितजंततवः स्वर्गादिपुण्यस्थानेषु पुण्यभोगमनुभूय यातीव दुःखतरं पापफलमनुभूय प्रक्षीणकर्मा वशेषेणामुं लोकमागत्य सर्वभयविह्वलेषु मृत्युबाधासंयुतेषुस्थावरादिषु जायते । वृक्षगुल्मलतावल्लीगिरयश्च तृणानि च । स्थावरा इति विख्याता महामोहसमावृताः ॥ १ ॥
sanaka uvāca | evaṃ karmapāśaniyaṃtritajaṃtatavaḥ svargādipuṇyasthāneṣu puṇyabhogamanubhūya yātīva duḥkhataraṃ pāpaphalamanubhūya prakṣīṇakarmā vaśeṣeṇāmuṃ lokamāgatya sarvabhayavihvaleṣu mṛtyubādhāsaṃyuteṣusthāvarādiṣu jāyate | vṛkṣagulmalatāvallīgirayaśca tṛṇāni ca | sthāvarā iti vikhyātā mahāmohasamāvṛtāḥ || 1 ||
Sanaka disse: Assim, os seres, presos e impelidos pelo laço do karma, desfrutam o fruto do mérito nos céus e em outros lugares de virtude; depois, sofrem o fruto do pecado, muito mais doloroso. Quando o karma se esgota, retornam a este mundo e nascem entre as ordens imóveis da existência—tomados por todo temor e afligidos pelos grilhões da morte. Árvores, arbustos, trepadeiras, montanhas e relvas são chamados “imóveis”, cobertos pela grande ilusão.
Sanaka
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna (compassion)
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
FAQs
It frames saṁsāra as a karma-driven cycle: merit yields temporary heavenly enjoyment, sin yields intense suffering, and once those results are spent the jīva returns to embodied existence—sometimes even as “sthāvara” (immobile life), indicating deep obscuration by mahāmoha (great delusion).
While bhakti is not named here, the verse sets the problem bhakti solves: bondage to karmapāśa and repeated births. In Narada Purana’s broader teaching, devotion to Viṣṇu is presented as a liberating discipline that transcends mere karmic reward (svarga) and aims at freedom from the cycle itself.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical and dharmic: actions (karma) have precise results (phala), so one should regulate conduct and adopt purifying disciplines to avoid downward rebirth.