Vamana Purana — Vishnu's Sleep (Ashunya-Shayana), Shloka 15

The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows

Devanagari script

षष्ठ्यां स्कन्दः प्रस्वपिति सप्तम्यांभगवान् रविः कात्यायनी तथाष्टम्यां नवम्यां कमलालया

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭhyāṃ skandaḥ prasvapiti saptamyāṃbhagavān raviḥ kātyāyanī tathāṣṭamyāṃ navamyāṃ kamalālayā

Translation

On the sixth lunar day (ṣaṣṭhī), Skanda is said to sleep. On the seventh (saptamī), the blessed Sun (Ravi) [sleeps]. Likewise on the eighth (aṣṭamī), Kātyāyanī [sleeps]; and on the ninth (navamī), Kamalālayā (Lakṣmī, ‘she who abides in the lotus’) [sleeps].

Word by Word

• षष्ठ्याम्: on the sixth (tithi)
• षष्ठ्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location-time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• स्कन्दः: Skanda
• स्कन्दः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रस्वपिति: sleeps
• प्रस्वपिति: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √svap (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; उपसर्गः प्र-

• सप्तम्याम्: on the seventh (tithi)
• सप्तम्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location-time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• भगवान्: the blessed/lordly
• भगवान्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• रविः: Sun (Ravi)
• रविः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कात्यायनी: Kātyāyanī
• कात्यायनी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kātyāyanī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय (adverb/particle), समुच्चयार्थे

• अष्टम्याम्: on the eighth (tithi)
• अष्टम्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location-time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• नवम्याम्: on the ninth (tithi)
• नवम्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location-time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कमलालया: Kamalālayā (she whose abode is Kamalā / Lakṣmī-associated epithet)
• कमलालया: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamalā + ālayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कमला + आलया (तत्पुरुष)

Speakers

• Narrative frame not explicit in excerpt; commonly Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa

Primary Deities

• Skanda (Kārttikeya)
• Ravi (Sūrya)
• Kātyāyanī (Devī)
• Kamalālayā (Lakṣmī)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Tithi calendar
• Śākta and Vaiṣṇava coexistence
• Solar devotion (Sūrya)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual timekeeping is presented as a way to align human conduct with cosmic rhythms—honoring martial virtue (Skanda), illumination and vitality (Sūrya), protective power (Kātyāyanī), and prosperity (Lakṣmī).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily dharma/ācāra instruction (vrata-kalpa style). It is not a direct exposition of sarga/pratisarga/vamśa/manvantara/vamśānucarita, but a practical religious calendar embedded in Purāṇic teaching.

What is the symbolic significance?

The sequence integrates multiple sectarian focal points—Śākta (Kātyāyanī), Vaiṣṇava (Lakṣmī), Saura (Ravi), and Kumāra devotion (Skanda)—reflecting the Purāṇa’s inclusive devotional ecology.