Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 39
The Account of Kārtavīrya’s Protective Kavaca
Kārtavīrya-kavaca-vṛttānta
सहस्रभुजनृत्पृष्टं सप्तद्वीपाधिपः कटिम् । ऊरू माहिष्मतीनाथो जानुनी वल्लभो भुवः ॥ ३९ ॥
sahasrabhujanṛtpṛṣṭaṃ saptadvīpādhipaḥ kaṭim | ūrū māhiṣmatīnātho jānunī vallabho bhuvaḥ || 39 ||
سات دیپوں کے ادھِپتی میری کمر کی حفاظت کریں؛ ہزار بازوؤں والے نَرپ میرے پُشت کی نگہبانی کریں۔ ماہِشمتی ناتھ میری رانوں کی حفاظت کریں؛ اور بھوولّبھ میرے گھٹنوں کی حفاظت کریں۔
Suta (narrating a traditional list/identification within the Narada Purana transmission)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It uses Purāṇic symbolic identification—mapping great rulers and regions onto parts of a cosmic body—to convey that sovereignty and sacred geography are ultimately integrated within a higher, ordered whole.
Direct bhakti instruction is not explicit here; however, by presenting worldly powers (kingship, regions like the seven dvīpas) as subordinate elements within a larger sacred framework, it supports the bhakti view that all greatness is meaningful when oriented toward the divine order.
The verse reflects the Purāṇic encyclopedic method used alongside Vedāṅga-style cataloguing—precise epithets, place-identifiers (e.g., Māhiṣmatī), and structured enumeration—useful for traditional recitation, memory, and textual indexing.