Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 17
Bhakti-Śraddhā-Ācāra-Māhātmya and the Commencement of the Mārkaṇḍeya Narrative
वेदप्रणिहितो धर्म्मो धर्म्मो वेदो नारायणः परः । तत्राश्रद्धापरा ये तु तेषां दूरतरो हरिः ॥ १७ ॥
vedapraṇihito dharmmo dharmmo vedo nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ | tatrāśraddhāparā ye tu teṣāṃ dūrataro hariḥ || 17 ||
Дхарма утверждена Ведой; и сама Веда есть дхарма — высочайший Нараяна. Но те, кто держится неверия, без шраддхи к этому, — для них Хари стоит очень далеко.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the dialogue framework)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It establishes a hierarchy: Veda grounds Dharma, and the ultimate reality behind Veda-Dharma is Nārāyaṇa; without śraddhā (faithful receptivity), one remains distant from Hari despite scriptural availability.
Bhakti is shown to depend on śraddhā: reverent trust in Veda-Dharma and in Nārāyaṇa as supreme. Faithlessness is described as the inner condition that keeps Hari “far,” i.e., devotion cannot mature without śraddhā.
The verse points to the Veda as the pramāṇa (authoritative source) for Dharma; practically, this implies aligning conduct and ritual duty with śāstra—supported by Vedāṅga disciplines like Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Vyākaraṇa (correct understanding of Vedic wording).