Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 42
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
अहो चित्रमहो चित्रमहो चित्रं मुनीश्वराः । आस्थिते कामदे विष्णो नरा यांति हि यातनाम् ॥ ४२ ॥
aho citramaho citramaho citraṃ munīśvarāḥ | āsthite kāmade viṣṇo narā yāṃti hi yātanām || 42 ||
Ôi lạ thay, lạ thay, thật là lạ thay, hỡi các bậc đại thánh! Dẫu Viṣṇu—Đấng thành tựu mọi ước nguyện—đang hiện tiền và có thể nương tựa, con người vẫn đi vào khổ hình và thống khổ.
Narada
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It highlights the paradox of human life: even with Viṣṇu—compassionate and wish-fulfilling—available through devotion, people ignore dharma and bhakti and thus fall into yātanā (painful consequences).
By calling Viṣṇu “kāmada,” the verse implies that turning to Him through bhakti is the direct, accessible refuge; suffering arises when one neglects that refuge and pursues harmful desires and actions.
No specific Vedāṅga is taught directly; the practical takeaway is ethical discernment (dharma-guided choice) and aligning desire (kāma) with devotion to avoid karmic yātanā.