Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 7

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

तस्यां स्नात्वा समभ्यर्च्य देवदेवं द्विजप्रियम् उपवासी इरावत्यां ददर्श परमेश्वरम्

Transliteration

tasyāṃ snātvā samabhyarcya devadevaṃ dvijapriyam upavāsī irāvatyāṃ dadarśa parameśvaram

Translation

[{"question": "Who is ‘yam’ (whom) in this verse?", "answer": "Grammatically ‘yam’ refers back to the deity being praised in the surrounding passage. Given the next verses explicitly say ‘Viṣṇum ārādhya’ (“having worshipped Viṣṇu”), the referent here is Viṣṇu as the presiding deity of the Śākala tirtha."}, {"question": "What does ‘paraṃ rūpam’ signify in a Purāṇic tirtha context?", "answer": "It commonly denotes an auspicious transformation—beauty, radiance, or a perfected bodily condition—granted as a fruit (phala) of worship at a powerful sacred site, often paired with ‘aiśvarya’ (sovereignty/prosperity) to indicate both personal and political flourishing."}, {"question": "Why is Śākala important here?", "answer": "The verse treats Śākala as a locus where Viṣṇu’s worship yields exceptional results. In Mahātmya sections, such place-names function as ‘geographic anchors’—the narrative validates the tirtha by citing exemplary beneficiaries like Purūravas."}]

Speakers

• Narratorial voice continuing the pilgrimage description.

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (river-to-river movement)
• Snāna and arcana as paired rites
• Upavāsa (fasting) as intensifier of merit
• Śiva as Devadeva and patron of dvijas

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘tasyām’ most naturally refer to in this sequence?

Given the immediately preceding mention of Vipāśā (‘vipāśām abhito yayau’), ‘tasyām snātvā’ most naturally means ‘having bathed in that (Vipāśā)’. The verse then shifts to Irāvatī as the next locus of darśana.

Why mention ‘dvijapriya’ (beloved of the twice-born) for Devadeva?

It frames the tīrtha practice as Vedic-orthoprax: bathing, worship, and fasting are presented as acts aligned with dvija discipline. The epithet also signals Śiva’s acceptance of Vedic worshippers, a common Purāṇic bridge between Śaiva devotion and Brahmanical ritual culture.

Is ‘Parameśvara’ here Śiva or Viṣṇu?

In isolation it can denote either, but the immediate epithets ‘Devadeva’ and ‘dvijapriya’ and the prior verse’s explicit ‘Śiva’ make the referent Śiva in this passage, describing a Śaiva shrine or manifestation at/near the Irāvatī.