Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 29
Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma
साब्रवीत् राक्षसपते मया स्थाप्य निजं शिशुम् कोशकारद्विजगृहे तस्यानीतः प्रभो सुतः
sābravīt rākṣasapate mayā sthāpya nijaṃ śiśum kośakāradvijagṛhe tasyānītaḥ prabho sutaḥ
She said: “O lord of rākṣasas, after placing my own infant in the house of the brāhmaṇa Kośakāra, I have brought here his son, O master.”
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FAQs
Kośakāra appears as an identifying name/epithet for a brāhmaṇa (dvija). Etymologically it can mean “maker of kośa (sheath/container),” but in narrative usage it functions as a proper designation of the brāhmaṇa whose household is violated.
The narrative stresses dharma through social-sacral space: a dvija-gṛha is treated as a protected sphere. Violating it triggers consequences comparable to offenses at a shrine, because brāhmaṇa tapas and knowledge are themselves ‘sacred geography’ in social form.
The act combines deception (placing her own child) and abduction (bringing the brāhmaṇa’s son). In Purāṇic moral logic, harm to a brāhmaṇa family invites swift retribution through śāpa and the force of tapas.