Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 2

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

वसवो ऽष्टौ हरं दृष्ट्वा सुस्रुवुर्वेगतो मुने सा तु जाता सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा सीता नाम सरस्वती

Transliteration

vasavo 'ṣṭau haraṃ dṛṣṭvā susruvurvegato mune sā tu jātā saricchreṣṭhā sītā nāma sarasvatī

Translation

أيها الحكيم، لما رأى الفَسُو الثمانية هَرَا (شِيفا) اندفعوا سراعًا وتدفّقوا؛ فولدت هي كأفضل الأنهار: سَرَسْوَتِي، واسمها سِيتَا.

Word by Word

• वसवः: the Vasus
• वसवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• हरम्: Hara (Śiva)
• हरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having seen’

• सुस्रुवुः: they flowed forth
• सुस्रुवुः: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्रु (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वेगतः: swiftly / with speed
• वेगतः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वेग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तु: but / indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (सम्बन्ध/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• जाता: was born / arose
• जाता: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सरित्-श्रेष्ठा: the best of rivers
• सरित्-श्रेष्ठा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सरितां श्रेष्ठा)

• सीता: Sītā
• सीता: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सीता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक-निपात (quotative/name-indicator)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speakers

• Pulastya (narrator) → (frame likely to Nārada)

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Hara)
• Vasus (eight deities)
• Sarasvati (river/goddess)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha Mahatmya
• Shaivism
• Cosmic Hydrology (river origin myths)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The sanctity of rivers is grounded in divine provenance: tīrthas are not merely physical sites but embodiments of sacred presence, encouraging purity, restraint, and pilgrimage-based remembrance (smaraṇa) of dharma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This aligns with Sarga-type descriptive cosmology and tīrtha-māhātmya insertions—etiological explanation of a sacred river’s manifestation within the broader narrative.

What is the symbolic significance?

The Vasus ‘flowing forth’ evokes the transformation of divine energy into life-sustaining waters. Naming Sarasvatī as Sītā overlays multiple sacred registers: speech/knowledge (Sarasvatī) and the ‘furrow/line’ of ordered cultivation (sītā), suggesting dharma as both wisdom and structured life.