Shloka 12
Nārada’s Account of a Former Birth and a Hymn to Nārāyaṇa
पुरातनं त्वप्रतिमं पुराणं परापरं पारगमुग्रतेजसम् । गम्भीरगम्भीरधियां प्रधानं नतोऽस्मि देवं हरिमीशितारम् ॥ ३.१२ ॥
purātanaṃ tv apratimaṃ purāṇaṃ parāparaṃ pāragam ugratejasam | gambhīra-gambhīra-dhiyāṃ pradhānaṃ nato ’smi devaṃ harim īśitāram || 3.12 ||
میں ربّ ہری کو سجدۂ تعظیم کرتا ہوں—وہ قدیم، بے مثال، خود پوران کا مجسم ہے؛ پرَا و اَپرَا سے ماورا، پار اُتارنے والا، سخت جلال والا اور گہری فہم والوں میں برتر ہے۔
Pṛthivī (default, speaker not explicitly stated in excerpt)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"devotee","bhu_devi_state":"devotional, awed, seeking refuge in praise","key_question":"Who is the incomparable ancient Lord (Hari) who leads beings beyond saṃsāra, and how is he to be approached as Īśitā (the ruler)?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"theology/vedāntic epithetology","core_concept":"Hari as purātana-purāṇa (primordial reality and the very ground of Purāṇa), transcending para/apara and ferrying beings to the ‘far shore’ (mokṣa).","practical_application":"Cultivate śaraṇāgati through praṇāma and contemplative remembrance of the Lord’s transcendence and guiding power."}
Subject Matter: ["Theology (descriptive)","Philosophical Praise","Puranic Literature"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
Type: None
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa: recurring stuti passages framing dialogue sections (stotra-style invocations)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Bhū-devī (Pṛthivī) offers a solemn praṇāma and stuti to Hari, emphasizing his ancient, radiant, unfathomable sovereignty.","item_prompts":["Bhū-devī with folded hands (añjali)","radiant Viṣṇu/Hari presence (aura/tejas)","scriptural palm-leaf or Purāṇa manuscript motif to suggest ‘purāṇa’","ocean/shore symbolism for ‘pāragam’"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: Bhū-devī in añjali before a luminous Hari; deep greens/reds, stylized halo, minimal background with symbolic far-shore ocean band.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central Hari with heavy gold-leaf prabhāmaṇḍala; Bhū-devī smaller at feet; include manuscript and ocean-border motifs with ornate jewelry.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework, soft shading; Bhū-devī’s serene devotion; Hari’s tejas as subtle gradated halo; restrained symbolic shore/ocean.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: lyrical landscape with a river/ocean ‘far shore’; Bhū-devī praying; Hari as calm, radiant presence amid pastel hills and sky."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"reverential, contemplative stuti","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"vilambita (slow)","voice_tone":"deep, steady, with clear articulation of compounds (samāsa)"}
FAQs
It functions as a stuti-style invocation typical of Purāṇic chapters, establishing textual authority through praise of the presiding deity (here, Hari/Viṣṇu) and framing the discourse in a classical Sanskrit literary register.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily an invocation and philosophical praise rather than a passage of sacred geography.
The verse models humility and intellectual reverence: the speaker adopts a posture of respectful inquiry and acknowledgement of sovereignty (īśitāra), a common preparatory ethic before receiving instruction.