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Nārada’s Account of a Former Birth and a Hymn to Nārāyaṇa
नारद उवाच । स्नातस्य मम राजेन्द्र तस्मिन् वेदसरस्यथ । सावित्र्याश्च वचः श्रुत्वा तस्मिन् जन्मसहस्रकम् । स्मरणं तत्क्षणाज्जातं शृणु जन्मान्तरं मम ॥ ३.२ ॥
nārada uvāca | snātasya mama rājendra tasmin vedasarasy atha | sāvitrīyāś ca vacaḥ śrutvā tasmin janmasahasrakam | smaraṇaṁ tatkṣaṇāj jātaṁ śṛṇu janmāntaraṁ mama || 3.2 ||
那罗陀说道:“噢,大王,我在那吠陀之池(Veda-saras)沐浴之后,又聆听了萨维特丽的言语,就在那一刹那,我心中生起了对千次生世的忆念。请听我前生之事。”
Nārada
It preserves a common Purāṇic narrative device: a sacred site (tīrtha) experience triggers extraordinary recollection (janma-smṛti), allowing the text to introduce a didactic backstory within a dialogue framework.
The verse names “Veda-saras” (Veda-lake). The excerpt does not provide enough internal markers to securely equate it with a specific modern location; it is best cataloged as a named tīrtha pending corroboration from adjacent verses or parallel recensions.
The verse foregrounds disciplined engagement with cultural-ritual heritage (bathing at a tīrtha and attentive listening), presenting these acts as catalysts for self-reflection and moral narrative learning rather than as coercive doctrine.
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