Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 139

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा गालवं चैव समुत्थायाभ्यवादयत् स चार्चिष्यन्महादेवं महर्षीनभ्यवादयत् ते चापि नृपतिश्रेष्ठस्तं संपूज्य तपोधनम्

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā gālavaṃ caiva samutthāyābhyavādayat sa cārciṣyanmahādevaṃ maharṣīnabhyavādayat te cāpi nṛpatiśreṣṭhastaṃ saṃpūjya tapodhanam

Translation

فلما رأته—ورأى معه غالَفا (Gālava)—نهضت وحيَّتهما بتحيةٍ ملؤها الإجلال. ثم إنه، بعد أن عبد مهاديڤا (Mahādeva)، قدّم السجود للريشيّات العظام. وأولئك الحكماء أيضًا، يا خير الملوك، أكرموا ذلك الزاهد الغنيَّ بالتقشّف.

Speakers

• Primary narrator addressing a king (indicated by vocative nṛpatiśreṣṭha); within the scene
• an unnamed host/figure greets Gālava and other ṛṣis and worships Mahādeva.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Mahadeva)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Mahima
• Ritual hospitality and honor (satkāra)
• Reverence to sages (ṛṣi-vandana)
• Śiva worship in a pilgrimage setting

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the sequence ‘greeting the sage(s) and worshipping Mahādeva’ significant in a tīrtha chapter?

Tīrtha-māhātmya passages often model correct pilgrimage conduct: honoring arriving guests and sages (atithi/ṛṣi-satkāra) and performing deity-worship. The verse frames the tīrtha as a place where social dharma and ritual devotion converge.

Who is Gālava in Purāṇic-Itihāsa memory, and what does his presence imply?

Gālava is a well-known ṛṣi associated with Vedic learning and the Mahābhārata milieu. His appearance typically signals a learned, dharmic assembly; narratively it elevates the sanctity of the locale and the authority of the events described.

What does the epithet ‘tapodhana’ convey about the honored person?

It marks the person’s ‘wealth’ as tapas rather than material power—suggesting spiritual capital. In tīrtha contexts, such figures function as living embodiments of the site’s merit and as worthy recipients of honor.