Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 57
Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti
सप्तर्षिमुख्यो द्विचतुश्च दैत्यो नरस्तु षट् त्रीणि च दैत्यमुख्ये षट्त्रीणि चैकं च दितीश्वरेण मुक्तानि बाणानि नराय विप्र
saptarṣimukhyo dvicatuśca daityo narastu ṣaṭ trīṇi ca daityamukhye ṣaṭtrīṇi caikaṃ ca ditīśvareṇa muktāni bāṇāni narāya vipra
يا أيها البرهمن، إنّ الأبرز بين السبع رِشيّات أطلق سهامًا؛ وأطلق الدايتي سهمين وأربعة؛ وأطلق نارا ستة وثلاثة على زعيم الدايتيّات. وأطلق سيدُ المولودين من دِتي على نارا سهامًا—ستة وثلاثة وواحدًا.
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FAQs
By addressing a ‘vipra’ and invoking ‘saptarṣi-mukhya’, the text frames even violent conflict within a moral-auditory setting: warfare is narrated for discernment (viveka) and instruction, not mere spectacle. The implied lesson is that power must remain accountable to higher wisdom (ṛṣi/śruti-aligned oversight).
Again, this is Carita/Vaṃśānucarita-oriented material—heroic action sequences embedded in the Purāṇic historical-mythic narration, not a direct sarga/pratisarga or manvantara catalogue.
The appearance of ‘saptarṣi-mukhya’ amidst arrow-counting can signal that cosmic order (ṛta/dharma, guarded by sages) remains the silent measure behind worldly contests. The repeated numeric patterns underscore that conflict follows intelligible order, not randomness—suggesting a dharmic ‘grammar’ even in battle.