Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 8
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
मनुष्यजन्म नापि च । चर्मकारचंडालव्याधानापितरजककुंभकारलोहकारस्वर्णकारतंतुवाचसौचिकजटिलसिद्धधावकलेखकभृतकशासनहारिनीचभृत्यद्ररिदहीनांगाधिकांगत्वादि दुःखबहुलज्वरतापशीतश्लेष्मगुल्मपादाक्षिशिरोगर्भपार्श्ववेदनादिदुःखमनुभवंति ॥ ८ ॥
manuṣyajanma nāpi ca | carmakāracaṃḍālavyādhānāpitarajakakuṃbhakāralohakārasvarṇakārataṃtuvācasaucikajaṭilasiddhadhāvakalekhakabhṛtakaśāsanahārinīcabhṛtyadraridahīnāṃgādhikāṃgatvādi duḥkhabahulajvaratāpaśītaśleṣmagulmapādākṣiśirogarbhapārśvavedanādiduḥkhamanubhavaṃti || 8 ||
Hindi man lamang nila nakakamit ang tunay na kapanganakang-tao; sa halip, nabubuhay sila sa mga kalagayang hitik sa sakit—gaya ng pagsilang sa mababa o mabagsik na hanapbuhay (manggagawang balat, caṇḍāla o itinuturing na itinakwil, mangangaso, barbero, tagalaba, magpapalayok, panday, platero/gumagawa ng ginto, manghahabi, mananahi, asetikong may buhol-buhol na buhok, tinatawag na ‘siddha’, tagalaba, eskriba, upahang manggagawa, maniningil ng buwis, alipin at iba pa), o pagsilang bilang dukha, bilang kulang ang mga sangkap ng katawan, o may sobrang sangkap. Dinaranas nila ang sari-saring pagdurusa: lagnat, naglalagablab na init, lamig, karamdaman ng plema, bukol sa tiyan, at mga kirot sa paa, mata, ulo, sinapupunan, tagiliran, at iba pang pighati.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Purva Bhaga dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
It underscores the Purana’s karmic worldview: actions and tendencies can lead not only to loss of a favorable human condition but also to births marked by hardship—social, economic, and bodily—thereby urging detachment and pursuit of dharma and liberation.
By vividly portraying the instability and pain of worldly embodiment, the verse functions as a motivator for taking refuge in higher practice—especially remembrance and devotion to the Lord—as the secure means to transcend repeated suffering.
No specific Vedanga is taught directly; the practical takeaway is ethical causality (karma-phala) and the need for disciplined conduct and remedial religious practice (dharma, vrata, and devotion) to avoid degrading conditions of birth.