Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 7

The Classification and Explanation of Yakṣiṇī Mantras

Kālī and Tārā Vidyās

Devanagari script

मुंडस्रङ्मस्तकां मुक्तकेशां पितृवनस्तिताम् । सर्वालंकृतवर्णां च श्यामांगीं कालिकां स्मरेत् ॥ ७ ॥

Transliteration

muṃḍasraṅmastakāṃ muktakeśāṃ pitṛvanastitām | sarvālaṃkṛtavarṇāṃ ca śyāmāṃgīṃ kālikāṃ smaret || 7 ||

Translation

พึงระลึกถึงกาลิกา—ผู้มีศีรษะประดับพวงกะโหลก ผมสยาย ประทับอยู่ในป่าบรรพชน ทรงเครื่องประดับครบถ้วน และมีพระวรกายสีคล้ำ

Word by Word

• मुण्ड-स्रक्-मस्तकाम्: (her) whose head is adorned with a garland of skulls
• मुण्ड-स्रक्-मस्तकाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + स्रज्/स्रक् (प्रातिपदिक) + मस्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (मुण्डानां स्रक् यस्याः सा; मस्तके) — देवीविशेषणम्

• मुक्त-केशाम्: with loosened hair
• मुक्त-केशाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + केश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (मुक्ताः केशाः यस्याः)

• पितृ-वन-स्थिताम्: dwelling in the ancestral grove (cremation-ground)
• पितृ-वन-स्थिताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पितृवन में स्थित)

• सर्व-अलङ्कृत-वर्णाम्: fully adorned/ornamented in appearance
• सर्व-अलङ्कृत-वर्णाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अलङ्कृत (कृदन्त, क्त) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वैः अलङ्कृतः वर्णः यस्याः/सर्वथा अलङ्कृता)

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

• श्याम-अङ्गीम्: dark-limbed
• श्याम-अङ्गीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्याम (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्यामम् अङ्गं यस्याः)

• कालिकाम्: Kālīkā
• कालिकाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन

• स्मरेत्: should meditate/remember
• स्मरेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narada (teaching a dhyāna/visualization formula within a technical-ritual context)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kalikā
• Pitṛs

FAQs

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

It gives a precise dhyāna-lakṣaṇa (meditative iconography) of Goddess Kālikā, training the practitioner to fix the mind on a defined sacred form so mantra and worship become focused and effective.

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

Bhakti here functions as smaraṇa (devotional remembrance): the devotee repeatedly contemplates the deity’s form—garlanded with skulls, dark-bodied, unbound-haired—so reverence and surrender become steady through continuous meditation.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It reflects prayoga-style ritual knowledge: a dhyāna instruction used as a preparatory limb of worship (upacāra/nyāsa-dhyāna sequence), emphasizing correct visualization and prescribed descriptors for ritual success.