Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.6.5

nārada uvāca

bhikṣubhir vipravasite

vijñānādeṣṭṛbhir mama

vartamāno vayasy ādye

tata etad akāraṣam

SYNONYMS

nāradaḥ uvāca — Śrī Nārada said; bhikṣubhiḥ — by the great sages; vipravasite — having departed for other places; vijñāna — scientific spiritual knowledge; ādeṣṭṛbhiḥ — those who imparted unto me; mama — mine; vartamānaḥ — present; vayasi ādye — before this life; tataḥ — thereafter; etat — this much; akāraṣam — performed.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Nārada said: The great sages, who had imparted scientific knowledge of transcendence to me, departed for other places, and I had to pass my life in this way.

PURPORT

In his previous life, when Nāradajī was impregnated with spiritual knowledge by the grace of the great sages, there was a tangible change in his life, although he was only a boy of five years. That is an important symptom visible after initiation by the bona fide spiritual master. Actual association of devotees brings about a quick change in life for spiritual realization. How it so acted upon the previous life of Śrī Nārada Muni is described by and by in this chapter.