Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 3

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

Devanagari script

यज्ञः समागात् परमाकुलत्वं न वेद्मि किं मे मधुहा करिष्यति यथा प्रदग्धो ऽस्मि महेश्वरेण किं मां न संधक्ष्ययति वासुदेवः // वम्प्_64.2 ऋक्साममन्त्राहुतिभिर्हुताभिर्वितानकीयान् ज्वलनास्तु भागान् भक्त्या द्विजेन्द्ररपि संप्रपादितान् नैव प्रतीच्चन्ति विभोर्भयेन

Transliteration

yajñaḥ samāgāt paramākulatvaṃ na vedmi kiṃ me madhuhā kariṣyati yathā pradagdho 'smi maheśvareṇa kiṃ māṃ na saṃdhakṣyayati vāsudevaḥ // VamP_64.2 ṛksāmamantrāhutibhirhutābhirvitānakīyān jvalanāstu bhāgān bhaktyā dvijendrarapi saṃprapāditān naiva pratīccanti vibhorbhayena

Translation

The Yajña (the sacrificial rite/personified sacrifice) fell into extreme agitation: ‘I do not know what Madhuhā (the slayer of Madhu) will do to me. Since I have been burned by Maheśvara, will not Vāsudeva also utterly burn me?’ And the fires, though offered their portions through oblations accompanied by Ṛg and Sāma mantras—portions duly presented with devotion even by the best of twice-born—did not accept them, out of fear of the Lord.

Speakers

• Narrator Pulastya; within the narration the personified Yajña speaks (implied soliloquy)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva, Madhuhā)
• Śiva (Maheśvara)
• Agni (sacrificial fire, implied by ‘jvalanāḥ’)

Key Themes

• Ritual theology: efficacy of yajña depends on cosmic order
• Personification of Yajña and Agni
• Fear/withdrawal of ritual fire as omen
• Shaiva–Vaishnava power dynamics (Śiva burns; Viṣṇu’s approach feared)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘Yajña’ portrayed as a being who can fear and speak?

Purāṇic style often personifies cosmic institutions (Yajña, Dharma, Earth) to dramatize metaphysical truths: sacrifice is not merely a human act but a cosmic principle that can be ‘disturbed’ when divine power manifests.

What does it mean that the fires ‘did not accept’ the oblations despite correct mantras?

It indicates a suspension of normal ritual causality: even properly performed Vedic procedure can fail when a higher divine intervention is imminent, underscoring that mantra-ritual works within, not above, the Lord’s sovereignty.

How should we read the reference to being ‘burned by Maheśvara’ and fearing Vāsudeva?

It evokes a prior episode where Śiva’s power overwhelms the sacrificial principle; the present fear suggests another overwhelming theophany. The juxtaposition highlights both Śiva’s and Viṣṇu’s supremacy in their respective modes, a common Purāṇic strategy to articulate sectarian unity through shared transcendence.