Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 38

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

विशाखांशमनूराधा ज्येष्ठा भौमगृहं त्विदम् द्वितीयं वृश्चिको राशिर्मेढ्रं कालसवरूपिणः

Transliteration

viśākhāṃśamanūrādhā jyeṣṭhā bhaumagṛhaṃ tvidam dvitīyaṃ vṛściko rāśirmeḍhraṃ kālasavarūpiṇaḥ

Translation

(With) a portion of Viśākhā, (then) Anurādhā and Jyeṣṭhā—this is the house of Bhauma (Maṅgala/Mars). Scorpio (Vṛścika) is the second (such division) among the rāśis, and it is said to correspond to the generative organ of the Lord whose form is Time.

Word by Word

• विशाखा-अंशम्: a part of Viśākhā
• विशाखा-अंशम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• अनूराधा: Anurādhā (nakṣatra)
• अनूराधा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनूराधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ज्येष्ठा: Jyeṣṭhā (nakṣatra)
• ज्येष्ठा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भौम-गृहम्: the house of Mars
• भौम-गृहम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भौम (प्रातिपदिक) + गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘house of Mars’)

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• द्वितीयम्: second
• द्वितीयम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• वृश्चिकः: Scorpio
• वृश्चिकः: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृश्चिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• राशिः: zodiac sign
• राशिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• मेढ्रम्: genitals
• मेढ्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेढ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• कालसव-रूपिणः: of the one whose form is Kālasava
• कालसव-रूपिणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालसव (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘having the form of Kālasava’)

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame; not explicit in excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (implicit cosmic Lord)
• Kāla (Time, as divine aspect)
• Bhauma/Maṅgala (graha-deity)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Jyotiṣa
• Kāla (Time) theology
• Microcosm–macrocosm correspondence

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By linking even reproductive power to Kāla (Time) as the Lord’s form, the text frames generation and dissolution as time-governed and sacred—encouraging restraint, responsibility, and reverence toward life-forces rather than mere indulgence.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa?

This is descriptive cosmology (Sarga-oriented material), specifically an astral-anatomical mapping used for Purāṇic world-order exposition.

What is the symbolic significance?

Scorpio’s traditional associations with intensity, transformation, and hidden forces are here sacralized as part of the cosmic body. Identifying the Lord as Kāla-svarūpa places all instinctual and generative energies under the sovereignty of Time and dharma.