Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 1

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

इति श्रीवामनपुराणे त्रिषष्टितमो ऽध्यायः इन् रेए निछ्त् zउल्äस्सिगे zएइछेन्: - #2 र्̥̄ #1 ष् #1 श्रीवामनपुराणं-64 पुलस्त्य उवाच ततः समागच्चति वासुदेवे मही चकम्पे गिरयच चेलुः क्षुब्धाः समुद्रा श्रीवामनपुराणं-64 पुलस्त्य उवाच ततः समागच्चति वासुदेवे मही चकम्पे गिरयश्च चेलुः क्षुब्धाः समुद्रा दिवि ऋक्षमण्डलो बभौ विपर्यस्तगतिर्महर्षे

Transliteration

iti śrīvāmanapurāṇe triṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ IN REE NICHT ZULÄSSIGE ZEICHEN: - #2 r̥̄ #1 Ṣ #1 śrīvāmanapurāṇaṃ-64 pulastya uvāca tataḥ samāgaccati vāsudeve mahī cakampe girayaca celuḥ kṣubdhāḥ samudrā śrīvāmanapurāṇaṃ-64 pulastya uvāca tataḥ samāgaccati vāsudeve mahī cakampe girayaśca celuḥ kṣubdhāḥ samudrā divi ṛkṣamaṇḍalo babhau viparyastagatirmaharṣe

Translation

Pulastya said: Then, as Vāsudeva drew near, the earth trembled and the mountains shook; the oceans were agitated, and in the sky the circle of stars appeared with its course reversed, O great seer.

Speakers

• Pulastya narrating (frame; addressee not explicit in excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva)

Key Themes

• Cosmic omens (adbhuta)
• Theophany signaled by nature’s disturbance
• Macrocosm responding to the divine

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why do Purāṇas describe earthquakes and astral reversals when a deity arrives?

Such ‘adbhuta’ motifs mark a theophany: the cosmos reacts to the Lord’s proximity, indicating a shift in dharmic balance or the onset of a decisive divine act.

What is ‘ṛkṣa-maṇḍala’ in classical Sanskrit usage?

It denotes the stellar/constellation sphere (nakṣatra/stellar circle). Mentioning its ‘reversed course’ intensifies the omen, suggesting cosmic order is momentarily destabilized by a transcendent event.

Does this verse locate the event at a specific tīrtha?

Not by name. It uses cosmic-scale geography (earth, mountains, oceans, sky). A specific pilgrimage location would need adjacent verses naming a river, forest, or shrine.