Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 50
Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra
तं प्राह शंभुर्द्विज पश्य मह्यं भस्म प्रवृत्तो ऽङ्गुलितो ऽतिशुक्लम् संताडनादेव न च प्रहर्षो ममास्ति नृनं हि भवान् प्रमत्तः
taṃ prāha śaṃbhurdvija paśya mahyaṃ bhasma pravṛtto 'ṅgulito 'tiśuklam saṃtāḍanādeva na ca praharṣo mamāsti nṛnaṃ hi bhavān pramattaḥ
Śambhu said to him: “O twice-born, look at me. From my finger there issues exceedingly white ash. Yet merely because of this striking (manifestation) I feel no exhilaration; for you, among men, have become heedless (intoxicated with pride).”
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The gesture functions as a corrective demonstration: Śiva shows a superior (yet effortless) manifestation to undercut the sage’s vanity and to teach that siddhi-like signs are not grounds for self-exaltation.
Śiva models non-elation (apraharṣa) even when extraordinary power appears, teaching that true tapas is marked by steadiness, not by intoxication or display.
Not mere carelessness, but a spiritual heedlessness—loss of discernment due to pride in one’s ascetic attainment—leading to improper conduct (e.g., celebratory dancing in the surrounding narrative).