Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
सनक उवाच । एवं कर्मपाशनियंत्रितजंततवः स्वर्गादिपुण्यस्थानेषु पुण्यभोगमनुभूय यातीव दुःखतरं पापफलमनुभूय प्रक्षीणकर्मा वशेषेणामुं लोकमागत्य सर्वभयविह्वलेषु मृत्युबाधासंयुतेषुस्थावरादिषु जायते । वृक्षगुल्मलतावल्लीगिरयश्च तृणानि च । स्थावरा इति विख्याता महामोहसमावृताः ॥ १ ॥
sanaka uvāca | evaṃ karmapāśaniyaṃtritajaṃtatavaḥ svargādipuṇyasthāneṣu puṇyabhogamanubhūya yātīva duḥkhataraṃ pāpaphalamanubhūya prakṣīṇakarmā vaśeṣeṇāmuṃ lokamāgatya sarvabhayavihvaleṣu mṛtyubādhāsaṃyuteṣusthāvarādiṣu jāyate | vṛkṣagulmalatāvallīgirayaśca tṛṇāni ca | sthāvarā iti vikhyātā mahāmohasamāvṛtāḥ || 1 ||
萨那迦说：如是，众生为业索所缚所驱，先在天界等福德之处受用福报；继而又受更为痛苦的罪业之果。业尽之后，复来此世，生于不动之类——为诸怖畏所震惶，受死亡之逼迫。树木、灌木、藤蔓、群山与草芥，皆名为“ 不动者 ”，为大迷妄所覆。
Sanaka
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna (compassion)
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka (fear)
FAQs
It frames saṁsāra as a karma-driven cycle: merit yields temporary heavenly enjoyment, sin yields intense suffering, and once those results are spent the jīva returns to embodied existence—sometimes even as “sthāvara” (immobile life), indicating deep obscuration by mahāmoha (great delusion).
While bhakti is not named here, the verse sets the problem bhakti solves: bondage to karmapāśa and repeated births. In Narada Purana’s broader teaching, devotion to Viṣṇu is presented as a liberating discipline that transcends mere karmic reward (svarga) and aims at freedom from the cycle itself.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical and dharmic: actions (karma) have precise results (phala), so one should regulate conduct and adopt purifying disciplines to avoid downward rebirth.