Vamana Purana — Caturmasya Observances, Shloka 36

The Cāturmāsya Observances and the Sleeping–Awakening Cycle of the Gods (Hari–Hara Worship)

Devanagari script

ततस्तु रक्षःक्षयकृत् तिमिरद्विपकेसरी महांशुनखरः सूर्यस्तद्विघातमचिन्तयत्

Transliteration

tatastu rakṣaḥkṣayakṛt timiradvipakesarī mahāṃśunakharaḥ sūryastadvighātamacintayat

Translation

Then Sūrya—who brings about the destruction of rākṣasas, the lion to the elephant of darkness, whose nails are his great rays—pondered how to thwart that (threat/obstruction).

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात

• रक्षः-क्षय-कृत्: maker of the destruction of demons
• रक्षः-क्षय-कृत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakṣas (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (रक्षसां क्षयं करोति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सूर्यः)

• तिमिर-द्विप-केसरी: lion to the elephant of darkness
• तिमिर-द्विप-केसरी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: timira (प्रातिपदिक) + dvipa (प्रातिपदिक) + kesarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (तिमिररूप-द्विपस्य केसरी = lion to the elephant of darkness); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सूर्यस्य उपाधि

• महांशु-नखरः: he whose claws are great rays
• महांशु-नखरः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃśu (प्रातिपदिक) + nakhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (महान्तोऽंशवः नखराः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सूर्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सूर्यः: the Sun
• सूर्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विघातम् इति अन्वयः)

• विघातम्: destruction, counteraction
• विघातम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vighāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अचिन्तयत्: considered, planned
• अचिन्तयत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrative voice (dialogue-frame not provided in input; commonly Pulastya ↔ Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa)

Primary Deities

• Sūrya

Key Themes

• Daitya/Rākṣasa opposition to dharma
• Sūrya as dispeller of darkness
• Protection of dharma
• Divine strategizing

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The Sun is portrayed as an agent of order: illumination is not only physical but moral, implying discernment (viveka) that exposes and checks adharmic disruption.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is episodic narrative (carita) within the broader purāṇic history of conflicts between dharma and adharma; it is not cosmogony (sarga) but a moralized mythic event embedded in ongoing world-order maintenance.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Lion to the elephant of darkness’ is a classic polarity: darkness = ignorance/adharma; sunlight = knowledge/dharma. The ‘ray-nails’ imagery makes Sūrya a cosmic warrior whose weapons are clarity and revelation.