Vamana Purana — Vishnu's Sleep (Ashunya-Shayana), Shloka 24

The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows

Devanagari script

इत्युच्चार्य प्रणम्येशं प्रसाद्य च पुनः पुनः नक्तां भुञ्जीत देवर्षे तैलक्षारविवर्जितमट्

Transliteration

ityuccārya praṇamyeśaṃ prasādya ca punaḥ punaḥ naktāṃ bhuñjīta devarṣe tailakṣāravivarjitamaṭ

Translation

فإذا تلا المرءُ ذلك، ثم سجد للربّ واسترضاه مرارًا وتكرارًا، أيها الحكيم الإلهي، فليأكل طعام الليل وحده، متجنبًا الزيتَ والأطعمةَ القلوية.

Word by Word

• iti: thus / saying
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/quotative), इति-शब्दः; quotation marker

• uccārya: having uttered
• uccārya: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud+car (धातु) → uccārya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘उद्+चर्’ धातोः

• praṇamya: having bowed
• praṇamya: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+nam (धातु) → praṇamya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘प्र+नम्’ धातोः

• īśam: the Lord
• īśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/2nd case), एकवचन

• prasādya: having propitiated
• prasādya: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+sad (धातु) → prasādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; causative sense ‘to propitiate/please’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• punaḥ: again (repeatedly)
• punaḥ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), पुनरुक्ति for emphasis

• naktām: at night
• naktām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: naktam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time) ‘by night/at night’; here as time qualifier

• bhuñjīta: should eat
• bhuñjīta: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष? actually मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person) एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘भुज्’ = to eat/enjoy

• devarṣe: O divine sage
• devarṣe: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devarṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (vocative), एकवचन

• taila-kṣāra-vivarjitam: devoid of oil and alkali
• taila-kṣāra-vivarjitam: Karma (कर्म/qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier) for implied ‘food’; समासः: तैलं च क्षारं च विवर्जितम् (excluded)

• aṭ: (uncertain reading)
• aṭ: Kriya (क्रिया/uncertain)
• Type: Verb
• Root: aṭ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्/आज्ञार्थ? form unclear in transmitted text; likely scribal for ‘aśnīyāt/āṭ’ etc. Treated as verb-stem ‘अट्’ (to go) but semantically mismatched; flagged as corrupt/uncertain

Speakers

• Narrative frame not specified in input (commonly Pulastya → Nārada
• but not asserted here)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Fasting/Upavāsa discipline
• Purity rules (dietary)
• Bhakti

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Devotion is paired with self-regulation: repeated reverence (praṇāma) and disciplined consumption (limited timing and simplified foods) are presented as a practical ethic of restraint that supports spiritual focus.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is vrata-vidhi (vow procedure) within dharma/ācāra material, ancillary to pancalakṣaṇa. It functions as prescriptive religion rather than cosmological or genealogical narration.

What is the symbolic significance?

Nakta (restricted eating) symbolizes mastery over appetite and time, while avoiding taila and kṣāra indicates minimizing stimulation and heaviness—external simplification mirroring internal purification.