Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

किमर्थमाचार्य मही सशैला रम्भेव वाताभिहता चचाल किमासुरीयान् सुहुतानपीह भागान् न गृह्णन्ति हुताशनाश्च

Transliteration

kimarthamācārya mahī saśailā rambheva vātābhihatā cacāla kimāsurīyān suhutānapīha bhāgān na gṛhṇanti hutāśanāśca

Translation

‘For what reason, O Teacher, has the earth—together with its mountains—shaken, like a plantain tree struck by the wind? And why do the fires here not accept the offered portions, even though the oblations have been properly made for the Asuras?’

Speakers

• Bali speaking to Śukra (Uśanas)

Primary Deities

• Agni (Hutāśana)
• Vishnu
• Śukra (Uśanas)

Key Themes

• Ritual efficacy and its obstruction
• Cosmic disturbance as moral signal
• Asura yajña under divine pressure

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does it mean that ‘fires do not accept the offerings’?

In Vedic-Purāṇic idiom, when Agni fails to ‘take’ the oblation (e.g., irregular flame, smoke, inauspicious behavior), it signifies a break in ritual auspiciousness—often due to adharma, a curse, or overpowering divine will opposing the rite.

Why compare the earth’s trembling to a plantain tree?

The plantain’s soft trunk sways easily; the simile conveys abnormal, pervasive instability. It frames the quake not as ordinary geology but as an omen (utpāta) affecting the entire sacrificial enterprise.

Are these omens specifically tied to Vāmana’s arrival?

Within the Bali cycle, such omens typically precede Viṣṇu’s strategic intervention. They function as narrative ‘advance signs’ that Bali’s yajña and sovereignty are about to be tested by a higher dharmic order.