Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 29

Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

तावन्योन्यं महात्मानौ शरचापधरौ मुने रुधिरारुणसिक्ताङ्गौ किंशुकाविव रेजतुः

Transliteration

tāvanyonyaṃ mahātmānau śaracāpadharau mune rudhirāruṇasiktāṅgau kiṃśukāviva rejatuḥ

Translation

أيها الحكيم، إنّ هذين العظيمين، حاملي القوس والسهام، وقد تقابلا، وأطرافهما مبللة محمرة بالدم، كانا يلمعان كأشجار الكِمْشُكَة.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• अन्योन्यम्: mutually/each other
• अन्योन्यम्: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (reciprocal adverbial use); ‘mutually’

• महात्मानौ: two great-souled ones
• महात्मानौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः महान् आत्मा यस्य (कर्मधारय)

• शरचापधरौ: bearing arrows and bow
• शरचापधरौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शर + चाप + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः शरं च चापं च धरति (द्वितीया-तत्पुरुष/उपपद)

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

• रुधिरारुणसिक्ताङ्गौ: whose limbs were drenched blood-red
• रुधिरारुणसिक्ताङ्गौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुधिर + अरुण + सिक्त + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—रुधिरेण अरुणेन सिक्तानि अङ्गानि यस्य (whose limbs are drenched with blood-red)

• किंशुकौ: (like) two kiṃśuka trees/flowers
• किंशुकौ: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किंशुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; उपमान (as comparand)

• इव: like/as if
• इव: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

• रेजतुः: shone
• रेजतुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: राज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

Speakers

• Not specified in input (vocative 'mune' indicates narrator addressing a sage; often Pulastya → Nārada)

Primary Deities

• Gaṇeśa (Gaṇeśvara)
• Unnamed opponent (assailant in v.27)

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Divine warfare
• Poetic simile (alaṅkāra)
• Heroic aesthetics (vīra-rasa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even in depictions of combat, the Purāṇic lens emphasizes stature (mahātman) and the moral frame behind action; the aestheticization of battle does not glorify cruelty so much as portray the intensity of dharma-conflict and its visible costs.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Carita/narrative description within a larger episode; it is not a pancalakṣaṇa core item but typical Purāṇic storytelling that supports dharma instruction through exempla.

What is the symbolic significance?

The kiṃśuka (flame-of-the-forest) is emblematic of blazing redness; comparing blood-reddened bodies to kiṃśuka trees suggests a ‘forest of fire’ motif—conflict as a consuming blaze that arises when dharma and adharma collide.