Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 76

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

हरिश्च चक्रं मृदुलाघवेन मुमोच तद्धतकमलस्य शत्रोः चिच्छेद देवास्तु गतव्यथाभवन् देवं प्रसंसन्ति च पद्मनाभम्

Transliteration

hariśca cakraṃ mṛdulāghavena mumoca taddhatakamalasya śatroḥ ciccheda devāstu gatavyathābhavan devaṃ prasaṃsanti ca padmanābham

Translation

«أطلق هَري قرصَه (التشاكرا) بخِفّةٍ لطيفة؛ فقطع (رأسَ) عدوِّ هاطَكا-كَمَلا. عندئذٍ زال كربُ الآلهة، فأخذوا يسبّحون ويمدحون الربَّ بَدْمَنابها.»

Word by Word

• hariḥ: Hari (Vishnu)
• hariḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• cakram: discus
• cakram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mṛdu-lāghavena: with gentle lightness/ease
• mṛdu-lāghavena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛdu (प्रातिपदिक) + lāghava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (mṛduṃ lāghavam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• mumoca: released/let go
• mumoca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tat: of that (one)/his
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; refers to enemy (his)

• hata-kamalasya: of the one with the lotus destroyed
• hata-kamalasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hata (प्रातिपदिक) + kamala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (hataṃ kamalaṃ yasya); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• śatroḥ: of the enemy
• śatroḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatru (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ciccheda: cut off
• ciccheda: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: chid (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• gata-vyathāḥ: free from distress
• gata-vyathāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (प्रातिपदिक) + vyathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• abhavan: became/were
• abhavan: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• devam: the god (Vishnu)
• devam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• prasaṃsanti: praise
• prasaṃsanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra- + saṃ + sṃs (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• padma-nābham: Padmanābha (lotus-naveled)
• padma-nābham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + nābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (padmaṃ nābhe yasya); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विष्णोः नाम

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing Hari’s act; implied continuation of Pulastya’s narration to Nārada (confirmed explicitly at 36.1).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari/Padmanabha)

Key Themes

• Divine intervention
• Protection of Devas
• Power of Sudarśana-cakra
• Restoration of cosmic order

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is ‘Hāṭaka-kamala’ and what does ‘enemy of Hāṭaka-kamala’ indicate?

The compound can function as a proper name/epithet within the surrounding narrative (not fully included in the excerpt). ‘Hāṭaka’ means ‘gold’ and ‘kamala’ means ‘lotus’; together it may denote a personage characterized by ‘golden-lotus’ imagery or a named figure. The verse’s focus is on Viṣṇu’s decisive act against that figure’s adversary, culminating in Deva relief.

Why is Padmanābha emphasized after the act of cutting down the foe?

‘Padmanābha’ is a theological marker: the same Viṣṇu who sustains creation (lotus-navel symbolism tied to cosmic origination) also acts as the protector in crisis. The praise links martial protection (cakra) with cosmic sovereignty.

What is the narrative function of the Devas becoming ‘gata-vyathā’?

It signals the restoration of balance: the Devas’ distress is a symptom of adharma’s ascendancy; its removal indicates dharma’s re-establishment through divine agency.