Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 29
Dhvaja-Dhāraṇa Mahātmyam: Sumati–Satyamatī, Humility, and Deliverance by Hari’s Messengers
अहमासं पुरा शूद्रो मालिनिर्नाम सत्तम । कुमार्गनिरतो नित्यं सर्वलोकाहिते रतः ॥ २९ ॥
ahamāsaṃ purā śūdro mālinirnāma sattama | kumārganirato nityaṃ sarvalokāhite rataḥ || 29 ||
ఓ సత్తమ పురుషా, పూర్వం నేను ‘మాలిని’ అనే శూద్ర స్త్రీని. నేను నిత్యం కుమార్గంలో ఆసక్తురాలినై ఉన్నాను, అయినా సమస్త లోకహితంలోనే రతమై ఉన్నానని భావించేదాన్ని.
Unspecified narrator within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue frame (a self-reporting character speaking to a revered listener)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
It highlights self-examination: one may claim to act for the public good (sarvalokahita) yet still be on a wrong path (kumārga). The verse sets up the Purāṇic lesson that true welfare must align with dharma, not merely intention.
By contrasting “wrong conduct” with “welfare,” it implies that genuine upliftment comes when one turns from kumārga to a dhārmic, God-centered life—commonly taught in the Narada Purana as devotion and surrender (bhakti) that purifies one’s life regardless of background.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discernment—testing actions by dharma rather than by claimed social benefit.