[3] A common theme in Vaishnavism is the accompaniment of a number of deities such as Narada to offer aid to Vishnu upon his descent to earth to combat the forces of evil, or to enjoy a close view of epochal events.

[6] Vaishnavas depict him as a pure, elevated soul who glorifies Vishnu through his devotional songs, singing the names Hari and Narayana, and therein demonstrating bhakti yoga.

[8] It appears as an earlier birth of Sariputta in the Jataka tales of Buddhism, as well as among names of medieval Buddhist scholars,[9][10] and in Jainism.

He is a master of the Sankhya and Yoga systems of philosophy, conversant with sciences of war and treaties and proficient in drawing conclusions by judging things, not within direct knowledge.

[12] The Bhagavata Purana describes the story of Narada's spiritual enlightenment: He was the primary source of information among the devas, and is believed to be the first cosmic messenger upon the earth.

The priests, being pleased with both his and his mother's service, blessed him by allowing him to eat some of their food (prasada), previously offered to their deity, Vishnu.

During the four months of rainy seasons when the sages did not leave their hermitage and stayed together, they used to recite various deeds of Vishnu, and from there Narada used to hear these stories.

Reaching a tranquil forest location, after quenching his thirst from a nearby stream, he sat under a tree in meditation (yoga), concentrating on the paramatma form of Vishnu within his heart as he had been taught by the priests he had served.

In many Hindu scriptures, Narada is considered a shaktyavesha-avatara or partial-manifestation (avatar) of God, empowered to perform miraculous tasks on Vishnu's behalf.

Due to the fact that the sage was meditating in the Himalayas and under Shiva's favour, he was protected by the deity's maya (illusory power) and hence remained undisturbed.

When Narada learnt of this, still confounded by Shiva's maya, he falsely attributed this event to his own mental prowess and grew proud of his achievement.

Heeding Shiva's suggestion to break the pride of the sage, Vishnu praised the qualities of Narada, but also warned him to not be delusional.

The king of the city, Shilanidhi, introduced his beautiful daughter, Shrimati--also known as Vishwamohini--to the sage, who grew desirous of marrying her.

Narada travelled to Vaikuntha, requesting Vishnu to grant him the deity's form so that Shrimati would choose the sage as her husband during her svayamvara ceremony.