Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 48
Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti
किं भवद्भ्यां समारःधं दम्भं धर्मविनाशनम् क्व तपः क्व जटाभारः क्व चेमौ प्रवरायुधौ
kiṃ bhavadbhyāṃ samāraḥdhaṃ dambhaṃ dharmavināśanam kva tapaḥ kva jaṭābhāraḥ kva cemau pravarāyudhau
Why have you undertaken this hypocrisy that destroys dharma? What has asceticism to do with a mass of matted hair—and what have these two excellent weapons to do with it?
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse condemns religious ostentation (dambha) as dharma-destroying; it also exposes how the critic can be morally right about hypocrisy yet wrong in application when confronting genuine divinity in disguise.
Carita-oriented narrative: it frames a moral accusation that precipitates the ensuing revelation/conflict, functioning as a didactic moment within an episode.
‘Tapas’ and ‘jaṭā’ symbolize renunciation, while ‘supreme weapons’ symbolize sovereign power and protection. Their juxtaposition points to the Purāṇic ideal that true divine authority can encompass both ascetic restraint and martial guardianship—without hypocrisy.