Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 55
Janaka’s Quest for Liberation; Pañcaśikha’s Sāṅkhya on Renunciation, Elements, Guṇas, and the Deathless State
वर्तते पृथगन्योन्यमप्युपाश्रित्य कर्मसु । धातवः पंचधा तोयं खे वायुर्ज्योतिषो धरा ॥ ५५ ॥
vartate pṛthaganyonyamapyupāśritya karmasu | dhātavaḥ paṃcadhā toyaṃ khe vāyurjyotiṣo dharā || 55 ||
Bagama’t magkakahiwalay, ang limang elemento ay gumaganap sa kani-kaniyang gawain sa pamamagitan ng pag-asa at pagsuporta sa isa’t isa: tubig, kalawakan (eter), hangin, apoy (liwanag), at lupa.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in Moksha-dharma context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It teaches that the material world is a coordinated system of interdependent elements; seeing their mutual dependence helps cultivate viveka (discernment) and detachment, supporting the Moksha-dharma aim of liberation.
By showing that even the elements act through mutual support, it implies a higher sustaining order; in Bhakti, that order is recognized as upheld by the Supreme, encouraging surrender and steady remembrance beyond bodily identification.
The verse aligns with tattva-vicara used in Vedic cosmology and supports Jyotiṣa-oriented thinking about elemental influences (bhūta-tattvas), though it is primarily a Moksha-dharma philosophical statement rather than a ritual rule.