Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 90
Kṛṣṇādi-mantra-varga-varṇana
Classification of Krishna and Related Mantras
पंचाक्षरश्च कृष्णाय कामरुद्धस्तथा परः । गोपालायाग्निजायांतो रसवर्णः प्रकीर्तितः ॥ ९० ॥
paṃcākṣaraśca kṛṣṇāya kāmaruddhastathā paraḥ | gopālāyāgnijāyāṃto rasavarṇaḥ prakīrtitaḥ || 90 ||
‘कृष्णाय’ इति पञ्चाक्षरः। कामनिरोधकः परोऽन्यो मन्त्रः परः स्मृतः। ‘गोपालाय’ इत्यन्तो ‘अग्निजायान्त’समाप्तश्च रसवर्णः प्रकीर्तितः॥
Narada (teaching in a technical mantra/vedanga context, in dialogue tradition with Sanatkumara lineages)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It classifies specific Krishna-centered mantras by syllable-count and function, emphasizing that correctly formed sacred sound (akṣara/varṇa) is a direct means for inner restraint and higher devotion.
By highlighting mantras addressed to Kṛṣṇa/Gopāla, it frames bhakti as practiced through disciplined remembrance and recitation—devotion expressed as precise, tradition-guided sacred speech.
Śikṣā/mantra-śāstra: attention to akṣara (syllables), varṇa (phonemes), and prescribed endings of mantra-forms—showing how phonetic structure is treated as technically meaningful in ritual and japa.