Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 76
The Description of the Four Durgā Mantras
लोकपालांस्ततो दिक्षु तेषामस्त्राणि तद्बहिः । पूर्वजन्मकृतैः पुण्यैर्ज्ञात्वैनां परदेवताम् ॥ ७६ ॥
lokapālāṃstato dikṣu teṣāmastrāṇi tadbahiḥ | pūrvajanmakṛtaiḥ puṇyairjñātvaināṃ paradevatām || 76 ||
แล้วเขาได้เห็นทวยโลกบาลในทิศทั้งหลาย และภายนอกนั้นเห็นอาวุธของท่านทั้งปวง; ด้วยบุญที่สั่งสมมาแต่ปางก่อน เขาจึงรู้แจ้งว่านางนั้นคือเทวีสูงสุด (ปรเทวตา)
Narada (within the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue framework)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It teaches that true recognition of the Supreme Deity is not merely visual or intellectual; it arises from accumulated spiritual merit (puṇya) earned through dharmic actions across lifetimes.
By implying that prior righteous living and reverence for the divine refine perception, the verse supports bhakti as a ripening process—devotion deepens until one can recognize the Supreme even amid celestial powers like the lokapālas and their weapons.
The verse reflects the traditional cosmological mapping of directions (dik) and their presiding deities (lokapālas), a framework used in ritual orientation and sacred-space arrangement (dik-vidhāna) in Vedic practice.