Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 18

The Description of the Four Durgā Mantras

Devanagari script

एकलिंगा योगिनी च डाकिनी भैरवी तथा । महाभैरवकेंद्राक्षी त्वसितांगी तु सप्तमी ॥ १८ ॥

Transliteration

ekaliṃgā yoginī ca ḍākinī bhairavī tathā | mahābhairavakeṃdrākṣī tvasitāṃgī tu saptamī || 18 ||

Translation

Ekaliṅgā, Yoginī, Ḍākinī e Bhairavī; bem como Mahābhairava-kendrākṣī e Asitāṅgī—estas formam a sétima série.

Word by Word

• एकलिङ्गा: Eka-liṅgā (name)
• एकलिङ्गा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + लिङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः

• योगिनी: Yoginī (name)
• योगिनी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• डाकिनी: Ḍākinī (name)
• डाकिनी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: डाकिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भैरवी: Bhairavī (name)
• भैरवी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भैरवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यत्व (adverb/conjunction: 'likewise/also')

• महाभैरव-केन्द्र-अक्षी: Mahābhairava-kendrākṣī (name)
• महाभैरव-केन्द्र-अक्षी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + भैरव (प्रातिपदिक) + केन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (महाभैरवस्य केन्द्रे अक्षी यस्याः/या)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध (particle: 'but/indeed')

• असिताङ्गी: Asitāṅgī (dark-limbed; name)
• असिताङ्गी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असित (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle)

• सप्तमी: the seventh
• सप्तमी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (ordinal)

Speaker

Narada (in a didactic enumeration, within a Sanatkumara–Narada dialogue framework)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Ekaliṅgā
• Yoginī
• Ḍākinī
• Bhairavī
• Mahābhairava-kendrākṣī
• Asitāṅgī
• Mahābhairava

FAQs

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

It preserves a precise, ordered list of Yoginī/Śakti names, indicating that spiritual practice here values correct naming (nāma), sequence (krama), and classification (the “seventh” set) as part of disciplined ritual knowledge.

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

While primarily a technical enumeration, it supports bhakti through reverent remembrance (smaraṇa) and recitation of divine names—treating fierce Śakti forms as worthy of focused worship within an ordered liturgical framework.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

The verse reflects mantra-recitation discipline: accurate phonetics and name-forms (linked to Śikṣā and Vyākaraṇa in practice) and the use of structured lists for ritual deployment (vidhi/krama) in a technical chapter.