Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 55

Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

एताः सप्त सरस्वत्यो निविसिष्यन्ति नित्यशः सोमपालफलं सर्वाः प्रयच्छन्ति सुपुण्यदाः

Transliteration

etāḥ sapta sarasvatyo nivisiṣyanti nityaśaḥ somapālaphalaṃ sarvāḥ prayacchanti supuṇyadāḥ

Translation

هذه السارَسْوَتيات السبع يقمن هنا على الدوام؛ وجميعهن يمنحن ثمرةَ ثوابِ قربان السُّوما (Somapāla)، ويهبن پونْيَة (puṇya) رفيعة، أي فضلاً دينياً جليلاً.

Word by Word

• एताः: these
• एताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Kartṛviśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रथमा-बहुवचन-विशेषण (qualifies सरस्वत्यः)

• सरस्वत्यः: Sarasvatīs (rivers)
• सरस्वत्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• निविसिष्यन्ति: will settle; will reside
• निविसिष्यन्ति: Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-विश् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नित्यशः: always
• नित्यशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्यशः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/कालवाचक अव्यय (always/regularly)

• सोमपाल-फलम्: the fruit of Somapāla
• सोमपाल-फलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमपाल + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘सोमपालस्य फलम्’

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Kartṛviśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifies एताः/सरस्वत्यः)

• प्रयच्छन्ति: grant; bestow
• प्रयच्छन्ति: Kriyā (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम्/यच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• सुपुण्यदाः: bestowers of great merit
• सुपुण्यदाः: Kartṛviśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-पुण्य-दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘सुपुण्यं ददाति’ = giver of great merit

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher voice concluding the list with a phalaśruti-style claim to the listener (implicit).

Primary Deities

• Sarasvatī

Key Themes

• Phalaśruti (promise of merit)
• Equivalence of tirtha-bathing to Vedic sacrifice
• Perpetual sanctity of sacred waters
• Pilgrimage efficacy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does it mean that the seven Sarasvatīs ‘abide perpetually’?

It asserts enduring sanctity: the tirtha-power is not seasonal or contingent but permanently established, making the site ritually reliable for pilgrimage, bathing, and vows at any time.

How should ‘Somapāla-phala’ be understood?

In Māhātmya idiom it signals a high benchmark of merit—comparable to the fruit of Soma-related Vedic sacrificial performance—thereby elevating tirtha practice (snāna, japa, dāna) to sacrificial equivalence for those unable to conduct elaborate yajñas.

Does this verse imply a replacement of Vedic ritual by tirtha practice?

Rather than a polemical replacement, it is a Purāṇic accommodation: it extends access to ‘yajña-like’ merit through geography and devotion, integrating Vedic prestige into the pilgrimage economy of the Sarasvata landscape.