Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 65

Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti

Devanagari script

ततो दीतीशः सगदः समाद्रवत् सशार्ङ्गपाणिं तपसां निधानम् ख्यातं पुराणर्षिमुदारविक्रमं नारायणं नारद लोकपालम्

Transliteration

tato dītīśaḥ sagadaḥ samādravat saśārṅgapāṇiṃ tapasāṃ nidhānam khyātaṃ purāṇarṣimudāravikramaṃ nārāyaṇaṃ nārada lokapālam

Translation

Then the lord of Diti’s line (the Daitya), mace in hand, rushed at the bearer of Śārṅga (Viṣṇu), the treasure-house of austerities—Nārāyaṇa—renowned as an ancient ṛṣi, of noble prowess, O Nārada, the protector of the worlds.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) / Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), उपपद-क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial): ‘thereupon/then’

• dītīśaḥ: Diti’s lord (Daitya-king)
• dītīśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dītī-īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: दीत्याः ईशः

• sa-gadaḥ: with a mace
• sa-gadaḥ: Karta-anvaya (कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa + gadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सह (with) इत्यर्थे अव्ययीभावः; विशेषणम्

• samādravat: rushed/ran towards
• samādravat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√drav (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; सम्+आ उपसर्गौ

• sa-śārṅgapāṇim: towards Śārṅgapāṇi (Viṣṇu)
• sa-śārṅgapāṇim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa + śārṅgapāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सह (with) इत्यर्थे अव्ययीभावः; (पाठानुसारं ‘सशार्ङ्गपाणिं’ = ‘सह शार्ङ्गपाणिम्’)

• tapasām: of austerities
• tapasām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), षष्ठी (6th/gen.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• nidhānam: treasure, repository
• nidhānam: Karma (कर्म) / Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (शार्ङ्गपाणिम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• khyātam: renowned
• khyātam: Karma (कर्म) / Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √khyā + kta (धातु-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (शार्ङ्गपाणिम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• purāṇa-ṛṣim: the ancient seer
• purāṇa-ṛṣim: Karma (कर्म) / Apposition
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: पुराणः ऋषिः

• udāra-vikramam: of noble valor
• udāra-vikramam: Karma (कर्म) / Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udāra + vikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: उदारः विक्रमः यस्य

• nārāyaṇam: Nārāyaṇa
• nārāyaṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nārada: O Nārada
• nārada: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा एकवचन (voc./nom. sg.); वाक्ये सम्भाव्यं सम्बोधनम्

• lokapālam: protector of the worlds
• lokapālam: Karma (कर्म) / Apposition
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: लोकस्य पालः

Speakers

• Narrative voice addressing Nārada (implies Pulastya→Nārada dialogue layer)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Nārāyaṇa)

Key Themes

• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Vaishnavism
• Tapas (austerity) as divine power
• Purāṇic epithetology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse contrasts brute aggression (the Daitya’s charge) with spiritual capital (Nārāyaṇa as ‘tapasāṃ nidhānam’), implying that true sovereignty and protection arise from dharma and ascetic merit, not mere force.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It belongs to Vamśānucarita/Carita narrative (conflict episodes involving devas/daityas and the Lord), not to sarga/pratisarga; it also functions as stuti-like identification through epithets.

What is the symbolic significance?

Calling Nārāyaṇa an ‘ancient ṛṣi’ links kingship/protection with seerhood: the divine warrior is simultaneously the archetypal ascetic, suggesting that inner mastery underwrites outer victory.