Saṃsāra-duḥkha: Karmic Descent, Garbhavāsa, Life’s Anxieties, Death, and the Call to Jñāna-Bhakti
एवं बालत्वमापन्नो जंतुस्तत्रापि स्वमलमूत्रलित्पदेह आध्यात्मिकादिपीड्यमानोऽपि वक्तुमशक्तक्षुत्तृषापीडितो रुदिते सति स्तनादिकं देयमिति मन्वानाः प्रयतन्ते ॥ २४ ॥
evaṃ bālatvamāpanno jaṃtustatrāpi svamalamūtralitpadeha ādhyātmikādipīḍyamāno'pi vaktumaśaktakṣuttṛṣāpīḍito rudite sati stanādikaṃ deyamiti manvānāḥ prayatante || 24 ||
如此,众生到了婴儿之时,即便在彼处,身躯也被自身粪尿所污;虽受内在(ādhyātmika)及诸般苦恼逼迫,却不能言语。饥渴所迫而啼哭,侍者以为“当赐乳等”,便竭力喂养并安抚。
Sanatkumāra (teaching Nārada in dialogue on saṁsāra and embodied suffering)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
It highlights the helplessness and inherent suffering of embodied existence even from infancy—unable to speak, driven by hunger and thirst—encouraging dispassion (vairāgya) and a turn toward liberation-oriented life.
While not naming bhakti directly, it frames saṁsāra as intrinsically painful and dependent, which supports the Purāṇic conclusion that taking refuge in Bhagavān (especially Viṣṇu-bhakti, as emphasized elsewhere in the Nārada Purāṇa) is the stable remedy beyond bodily conditions.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this verse; it is primarily a dharma–mokṣa reflection on the realities of birth and bodily limitation.