Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

मृगास्यो मकरो ब्रह्मन् वृषस्कन्धेक्षणाङ्गजः मकरो ऽसौ नदीचारी वसते च महोदधौ

Transliteration

mṛgāsyo makaro brahman vṛṣaskandhekṣaṇāṅgajaḥ makaro 'sau nadīcārī vasate ca mahodadhau

Translation

يا أيها البرهمي، إنَّ المَكَرا (makara) له وجه كوجه الظبي، ويولد بكتفين وعينين كالثور. وذلك المَكَرا يجول في الأنهار، ويسكن أيضًا في المحيط العظيم.

Word by Word

• मृग-आस्यः: having a deer-like face/mouth
• मृग-आस्यः: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + आस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (मृगस्येव आस्यं यस्य)

• मकरः: a makara (aquatic creature)
• मकरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brāhman/Sage
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• वृष-स्कन्ध-ईक्षण-अङ्गजः: born from/connected with the bull’s shoulder and gaze (epithet)
• वृष-स्कन्ध-ईक्षण-अङ्गजः: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक) + स्कन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (वृषस्य स्कन्धः, ईक्षणम्; अङ्गजः = अङ्गात् जातः)

• मकरः: the makara
• मकरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति/अनुवादार्थ)

• असौ: that one/he
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस्-प्रातिपदिक (सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नदी-चारी: moving in rivers
• नदी-चारी: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + चारी (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; चारी = चर् (धातु) + णिनि/इन्; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (नद्यां चरति)

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

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• महा-उदधौ: in the great ocean
• महा-उदधौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उदधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् उदधिः)

Speakers

• Narrative frame not explicit in the given verses (often Pulastya ↔ Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa); here the vocative 'brahman' indicates address to a Brāhmaṇa/sage

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Cosmology (aquatic realms)
• Purāṇic Zoology / Mythic Beings

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse emphasizes the Purāṇic vision of a multi-layered cosmos where diverse beings inhabit appropriate domains (river and ocean), encouraging reverence for the ordered natural world rather than a direct moral injunction.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily aligns with sarga (descriptive account of beings/creation categories) in the broad sense, though presented here within a likely tīrtha/cosmographic descriptive passage.

What is the symbolic significance?

Makara, a liminal river–ocean creature, often symbolizes threshold zones and formidable watery power; its composite anatomy (deer/bull features) reflects Purāṇic mythopoesis that encodes awe of the aquatic unknown.