Vamana Purana — Shiva's Wedding Procession (Part 1), Shloka 71

Shiva’s Wedding Procession to Kailasa and the Marriage of Girija (Kali)

Devanagari script

देवैर्गणैश्चापि वृतो गिरीशः स शोभते मुक्तजटाग्रभारः यता वने सर्ज्जकदम्बमध्ये प्ररोहमूलो ऽथ वनस्पतिर्वै

Transliteration

devairgaṇaiścāpi vṛto girīśaḥ sa śobhate muktajaṭāgrabhāraḥ yatā vane sarjjakadambamadhye prarohamūlo 'tha vanaspatirvai

Translation

Surrounded by the gods and by the gaṇas, Girīśa shone forth, with the mass of the ends of his matted locks loosened—like a tree in a forest, rising with its shoots and roots amid sarjja and kadamba trees.

Word by Word

• devaiḥ: by the gods
• devaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• gaṇaiḥ: by the hosts (gaṇas)
• gaṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (also/even)

• vṛtaḥ: surrounded
• vṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛta (कृदन्त; √vṛ वृञ् वरणे/आवरणे)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण (surrounded)

• girīśaḥ: Lord of the mountain (Śiva)
• girīśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: girīśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः गिरि + ईश (तत्पुरुष)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śobhate: shines/appears splendid
• śobhate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śubh (धातु; शुभ् दीप्तौ/शोभायाम्)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mukta-jaṭāgra-bhāraḥ: with the mass of loosened hair-tresses
• mukta-jaṭāgra-bhāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukta (कृदन्त; √muc मुच् मोचने) + jaṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: मुक्त + जटाग्र + भार (तत्पुरुष; 'burden of the tips of loosened matted locks'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying girīśaḥ)

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमानवाचक (comparative particle: 'as/like')

• vane: in a forest
• vane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sarjja-kadamba-madhye: in the midst of sarjja and kadamba (trees)
• sarjja-kadamba-madhye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarjja (प्रातिपदिक) + kadamba (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: सर्ज्ज + कदम्ब + मध्ये (तत्पुरुष; 'in the midst of sarjja and kadamba [trees]'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• praroha-mūlaḥ: sprouting from the root
• praroha-mūlaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praroha (प्रातिपदिक) + mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: प्ररोह + मूल (तत्पुरुष; 'with sprout as root'/sprouting from the root); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying vanaspatiḥ)

• atha: then/indeed
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/प्रस्तावनार्थक (then/now)

• vanaspatiḥ: a tree
• vanaspatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vanaspati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

Speakers

• Narrative layer implied; default framework: Pulastya → Nārada (not explicitly marked in this verse)

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Girīśa)
• Devas (collective)
• Gaṇas (collective)

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Divine iconography
• Bhakti (aesthetic contemplation)
• Sectarian Harmony (devas + gaṇas together)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse teaches dhyāna through beauty: contemplation of the Lord’s form (rūpa-śobha) stabilizes devotion. The presence of both devas and gaṇas suggests cosmic order harmonized around Śiva—divinity integrates the ‘celestial’ and the ‘liminal’.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is descriptive narration within an episode (carita), not a pancalakṣaṇa core (sarga/pratisarga). Such iconographic passages often support tīrtha-māhātmya or bhakti instruction by supplying a meditational image.

What is the symbolic significance?

Śiva’s loosened jaṭā evokes both ascetic power and unleashed grace. The forest-tree simile portrays him as the central ‘axis’ of the sacred ecology: just as a great tree rises amid other trees, Śiva stands resplendent amid devas and gaṇas, sustaining the spiritual ‘forest’ around him.