Vamana Purana — Caturmasya Observances, Shloka 58

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

Devanagari script

गत्वा दृष्ट्वा च देवेशं शङ्करं शूलपाणिनम् प्रसाद्य भास्करार्थाय वाराणस्यामुपानयत्

Transliteration

gatvā dṛṣṭvā ca deveśaṃ śaṅkaraṃ śūlapāṇinam prasādya bhāskarārthāya vārāṇasyāmupānayat

Translation

Having gone and beheld the Lord of the gods—Śaṅkara, the trident-bearer—he propitiated him and, for the sake of Bhāskara’s purpose, led (him/the matter) to Vārāṇasī.

Word by Word

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal); ‘having gone’

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having seen’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction: ‘and’)

• deveśam: Lord of the gods
• deveśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva+īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘देवानाम् ईशः’); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śaṅkaram: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṅkaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṅkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śūla-pāṇinam: the one holding a trident
• śūla-pāṇinam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śūla+pāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (‘शूलः पाणौ यस्य सः’); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (epithet of Śiva)

• prasādya: having propitiated
• prasādya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sad (सद् धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रसादयति (causative sense ‘to please’); क्त्वान्त (absolutive): ‘having propitiated/pleased’

• bhāskara-arthāya: for the sake of Bhāskara (the Sun)
• bhāskara-arthāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara+artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘भास्करस्य अर्थः’); पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी विभक्ति (dative/4th), एकवचन

• vārāṇasyām: in Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), सप्तमी विभक्ति (locative/7th), एकवचन

• upānayat: brought/led (there)
• upānayat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (नी धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: उप+आ

Speakers

• Narrative layer not explicitly given in input (commonly Pulastya → Nārada framework); actor appears to be Brahmā from prior verse context

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Śaṅkara, Śūlapāṇi)
• Brahmā
• Sūrya (Bhāskara)

Key Themes

• Śiva-darśana
• Propitiation (prasāda)
• Sacred city Kāśī
• Inter-deity cooperation
• Non-sectarian Purāṇic theology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse foregrounds prasāda (grace) as the decisive factor in successful divine or worldly aims: power is effective when aligned with devotion, right approach, and the favor of the divine—here embodied by Śiva’s accessibility to supplication.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Carita (episode narration) with a strong tirtha-oriented vector (movement to Vārāṇasī). While not a full tirtha-māhātmya passage by itself, it functions as a narrative bridge into sacred-geography discourse.

What is the symbolic significance?

Śiva as ‘Śūlapāṇi’ signals the power to pierce and resolve cosmic afflictions; the shift toward Vārāṇasī—Śiva’s paradigmatic sacred seat—symbolizes relocating a problem into the field of ultimate purification and liberation, consistent with the Purāṇa’s integrative (non-sectarian) theology.