Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 18

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

नीलेन्दीवरनेत्रा च ब्रह्मन् बिल्वफलस्तनी प्रफुल्लकुन्ददशना मञ्जरीकरशोभिता

Transliteration

nīlendīvaranetrā ca brahman bilvaphalastanī praphullakundadaśanā mañjarīkaraśobhitā

Translation

يا براهمن، عيناها كزهرتي لوتس زرقاوين؛ وثدياها كثمرة البِلفا. أسنانها كأزهار الكُندا المتفتحة تمامًا، ويداها متألقتان مزينتان بعناقيد الزهر (مَنْجَري).

Word by Word

• नील-इन्दीवर-नेत्रा: having blue-lotus-like eyes
• नील-इन्दीवर-नेत्रा: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्दीवर (प्रातिपदिक) + नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण—(she) having eyes like blue lotus

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (sage)
• ब्रह्मन्: सम्बोधन (Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन—हे ब्रह्मन्

• बिल्व-फल-स्तनी: whose breasts are like bilva fruits
• बिल्व-फल-स्तनी: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बिल्व (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक) + स्तनिन्/स्तनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—यस्या स्तनौ बिल्वफलसदृशौ

• प्रफुल्ल-कुन्द-दशना: whose teeth are like blossomed kunda flowers
• प्रफुल्ल-कुन्द-दशना: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रफुल्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + कुन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + दशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—यस्या दशनाः प्रफुल्लकुन्दसदृशाः

• मञ्जरी-कर-शोभिता: adorned by hands (holding) clusters of blossoms
• मञ्जरी-कर-शोभिता: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मञ्जरी (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक) + शोभित (कृदन्त; √शुभ्/शोभ् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘शोभित’—मञ्जरीकरैः शोभिता

Speakers

• Narrative frame typically Pulastya → Nārada (exact speaker not explicit in provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Sacred description (stuti/varṇana)
• Auspicious markers and iconography
• Devotional poetics

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By presenting divinity through auspicious, life-giving symbols (lotus, bilva, kunda), the text encourages sāttvika imagination—training the mind to dwell on purity, generosity, and auspiciousness.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Not a direct pañcalakṣaṇa unit; it functions as devotional-ornamental description supporting a larger māhātmya narrative, typical of Purāṇic didactic style.

What is the symbolic significance?

Bilva is strongly linked with ritual auspiciousness (notably in Śaiva worship elsewhere), lotus with purity, and kunda with whiteness/clarity—together signaling a form that integrates beauty with sanctity.