Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 92

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

Devanagari script

तद् भयात् तां परित्यज्य प्रद्रुतो दक्षिणामुखः ततो ऽभिद्रवतस्तूर्ण खलीनरसना मुने

Transliteration

tad bhayāt tāṃ parityajya pradruto dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ tato 'bhidravatastūrṇa khalīnarasanā mune

Translation

“Out of fear of him, abandoning that (staff/that course), I ran off facing south. Then, as I fled, O sage, a dog with a collar and leash quickly ran after (me).”

Speakers

• Same first-person narrator addressing a sage (mune). This suggests a dialogic frame where the narrator recounts events to a ṛṣi interlocutor; exact named speakers not recoverable from these verses alone.

Key Themes

• Fear and flight
• Pursuit motif
• Directional symbolism (south)
• Narrative lead-in to karmic consequence

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘facing south’ (dakṣiṇāmukha) mentioned—does it carry symbolic weight?

In Purāṇic idiom, southward orientation can evoke the realm of Yama (death) or inauspicious movement, especially in stories about peril and life-loss. Here it intensifies the ominous tone as the chase escalates.

What is meant by ‘khalīna-rasanā’ in relation to the dog?

The compound indicates a dog fitted with a collar/halter (khalīna) and a strap/leash (rasanā). The detail makes the pursuer seem like a trained or owned animal—suggesting human agency behind the pursuit and heightening the sense of being hunted.

Does ‘tāṃ parityajya’ refer to abandoning the staff (yaṣṭi) or something else?

Grammatically it refers to a feminine object previously in view; given 64.91’s yaṣṭi (feminine), it can be read as ‘abandoning that staff/that matter.’ In narrative flow, it may also mean abandoning a prior position/plan; the broader passage would decide, but the immediate antecedent supports yaṣṭi.