Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 42

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

स चाभ्येत्याब्रवीत् का त्वं यासि देववतीति हि आनीतास्यश्रमात् केन भूपृष्ठान्मेरुपर्वतम्

Transliteration

sa cābhyetyābravīt kā tvaṃ yāsi devavatīti hi ānītāsyaśramāt kena bhūpṛṣṭhānmeruparvatam

Translation

“And he (the monkey), approaching, said: ‘Who are you, going about like a goddess? From whose hermitage have you been brought here, from the surface of the earth, to Mount Meru?’”

Speakers

• Monkey (kapi) speaking to Vedavatī

Primary Deities

• Meru (as sacred cosmic geography)

Key Themes

• Cosmographic transition (earth to Meru)
• Recognition of divine-like radiance/virtue
• Hermitage culture (āśrama motif)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the monkey ask about being taken ‘from the earth’s surface to Meru’?

The phrasing signals a cosmological displacement: Meru is not merely a mountain but the axial center of the Purāṇic world-system. The question frames Vedavatī as someone whose presence belongs to an elevated, quasi-celestial sphere, prompting inquiry into her origin and the agency that brought her there.

Does ‘devavatī’ imply Vedavatī is a goddess?

Grammatically it is comparative—‘like a goddess.’ In Purāṇic narrative, such language often indicates extraordinary tapas, purity, or tejas (spiritual radiance) rather than literal divinity.

Is the ‘hermitage’ a known tīrtha?

Not in this verse. The term āśrama can denote a sanctified locale associated with a ṛṣi, but without a name it remains a narrative sacred setting rather than a catalogued pilgrimage site.