Shloka 38

Nārāyaṇasya Guhya-nāmāni Niruktāni (Etymologies of Nārāyaṇa’s Secret Epithets) / नारायणस्य गुह्यनामानि निरुक्तानि

Devanagari script

रूपकूलां मनःस्रोतां स्पर्शद्वीपां रसावहाम्‌ । गन्धपड्कां शब्दजलां स्वर्गमार्गदुरावहाम्‌

Transliteration

nārada uvāca |

rūpakūlāṃ manaḥsrotāṃ sparśadvīpāṃ rasāvahām |

gandhapaṅkāṃ śabdajalāṃ svargamārgadurāvahām ||

Translation

那罗陀说道：“此世如一条大河。真实为其源；色相为其岸；心为其流；触为其洲；味为其奔涌之水。香为其淤泥；声为其水体；而通往天界之路，乃是那难渡之津。以此身为舟，便可渡之；忍辱为篙以行舟，法（dharma）为绳与锚以定其势。若得舍离之顺风，此急流亦可横渡。故当必定努力，求其渡越。”

Word by Word

• रूपकूलाम्: having form as its bank
• रूपकूलाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूपकूला
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• मनःस्रोताम्: having mind as its current/stream
• मनःस्रोताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनःस्रोता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• स्पर्शद्वीपाम्: having touch as its islands
• स्पर्शद्वीपाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्पर्शद्वीपा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• रसावहाम्: carrying taste (as its flow)
• रसावहाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रसावहा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गन्धपङ्काम्: having smell as its mud
• गन्धपङ्काम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गन्धपङ्का
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शब्दजलाम्: having sound as its water
• शब्दजलाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शब्दजला
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• स्वर्गमार्गदुरावहाम्: hard to cross at the ford leading to heaven
• स्वर्गमार्गदुरावहाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्गमार्गदुरावहा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• saṃsāra (the world/cycle of existence)
• svarga (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly life is portrayed as a perilous river made of sense-objects and mental currents; one should cross it through the disciplined use of the body, guided by forbearance (kṣamā), steadied by dharma, and propelled by renunciation (tyāga).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Nārada instructs the listener through an extended metaphor: the senses and mind constitute the hazards of saṃsāra, while ethical virtues and renunciation provide the means to reach the difficult ‘ford’ leading beyond it.