Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 53

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

Devanagari script

व्रीहिप्रदीपिककरा मनावारूढा च कन्यका चरते स्त्रीरतिस्थाने वसते नड्वलेषु च

Transliteration

vrīhipradīpikakarā manāvārūḍhā ca kanyakā carate strīratisthāne vasate naḍvaleṣu ca

Translation

فتاةٌ عذراء—تمسك في يدها سراجًا من الأرز، وتركب على (ما يُسمّى) مانا (manā)—تتحرّك ذهابًا وإيابًا؛ وتقيم في مواضع لهو النساء الإيروتيكي، كما تقيم أيضًا في مهاد القصب.

Word by Word

• व्रीहि: rice
• व्रीहि: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रीहि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• प्रदीपिका: lamp/torch
• प्रदीपिका: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदीपिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• करा: having (rice and lamp) in hand
• करा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (व्रीहि-प्रदीपिका-करा = whose hand holds rice and a lamp / having such hands)

• मनौ: on/at Manu (name/place)
• मनौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (locative)

• आरूढा: mounted/ascended
• आरूढा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + रुह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (mounted/ascended)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• कन्यका: maiden/girl
• कन्यका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• चरते: moves/wanders
• चरते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• स्त्री: woman
• स्त्री: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• रति: love/pleasure
• रति: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• स्थाने: in the place of women's pleasure
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्त्री-रतेः स्थानम्)

• वसते: dwells
• वसते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नड्वलेषु: in reed-thickets/marshy reed-beds
• नड्वलेषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नड्वल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical narrative frame; not explicit in provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Folk/Local Motifs in Kshetra Description
• Liminal Spaces (reed-beds, hidden places)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

In tīrtha sections, such motifs often function as cautionary or identificatory markers: certain zones are characterized by secrecy and sensuality (rati-sthāna, reed-beds), reminding practitioners to maintain discernment and self-restraint while navigating the landscape.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best treated as kṣetra-varṇana / tīrtha-māhātmya descriptive material rather than one of the five lakṣaṇas; it resembles local legend-encoding within pilgrimage geography.

What is the symbolic significance?

A lamp (pradīpikā) in erotic/hidden locales can symbolize the tension between illumination (awareness) and concealment (reed-beds, secret trysts), a common purāṇic way of marking morally ambiguous or liminal spaces within a sacred region.