Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 75
Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata
यदीह मां योद्धुमुपागतो ऽसि तत् कम्पेत ते हृदयं किमर्थम् ज्वरातुरस्येव मुहुर्मुहुर्वै तन्नास्मि योत्स्ये सह कातरेण / 35.74 इत्येवमुक्तो मधुसूदनेन मुरुस्तदा स्वे हृदये स्वहस्तम् कथं क्व कस्येति मुहुस्तथोक्त्वा निपातयामास विपन्नबुद्धिः
yadīha māṃ yoddhumupāgato 'si tat kampeta te hṛdayaṃ kimartham jvarāturasyeva muhurmuhurvai tannāsmi yotsye saha kātareṇa / 35.74 ityevamukto madhusūdanena murustadā sve hṛdaye svahastam kathaṃ kva kasyeti muhustathoktvā nipātayāmāsa vipannabuddhiḥ
“‘If you have come here to fight with me, why then does your heart tremble—again and again—like that of one afflicted with fever? I will not fight with a coward.’ Thus addressed by Madhusūdana, Mura then placed his own hand upon his heart and, repeatedly saying, ‘How? Where? Of whom (am I afraid/what is this)?’, he fell down, his mind undone.”
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FAQs
The language suggests more than ordinary fear: repeated trembling ‘like a fever patient’ and the disintegration of mind (vipanna-buddhi) imply the overpowering presence (tejas) of Viṣṇu, a Purāṇic trope where divine radiance itself defeats adharmic opponents.
It inverts the asura’s self-image as a heroic challenger. By framing trembling as cowardice, Viṣṇu delegitimizes the asura’s claim to honorable combat and underscores that adharmic aggression lacks true steadiness (dhairya).
It is a stylized expression of bewilderment—‘How (is this happening)? Where (is the danger)? Of whom (am I afraid)?’—marking a mind overwhelmed and unable to locate a rational cause, consistent with Purāṇic depictions of asuras undone by divine presence.