Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 86

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

Devanagari script

अवतीर्य रथेभ्यस्ते स्नातुमभ्यागमन् नदीम् घृताच्यपि नदीं स्नातं सुपण्यमाजगाम ह

Transliteration

avatīrya rathebhyaste snātumabhyāgaman nadīm ghṛtācyapi nadīṃ snātaṃ supaṇyamājagāma ha

Translation

ثم نزلوا من عرباتهم وتقدّموا إلى النهر ليغتسلوا. وكذلك غِرتاتشي (Ghṛtācī)، بعد أن اغتسلت في النهر، مضت إلى موضعٍ يُدعى سوبونْيَ (Supuṇya).

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (exact interlocutors not provided in prompt)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing)
• Merit (puṇya) through sacred geography
• Movement between pilgrimage nodes

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Ghṛtācī and why is her bathing mentioned in a tīrtha context?

Ghṛtācī is an apsaras (celestial nymph) frequently appearing in Purāṇic narratives. Her presence at a river-bath underscores the river’s sanctity: even celestial beings participate in tīrtha-snāna, reinforcing the site’s merit-bestowing power.

Is ‘Supuṇya’ a descriptive adjective or a proper place-name here?

In this construction it functions as a proper noun—‘(to) Supuṇya’—indicating a named locality/tīrtha. The etymological sense (‘very meritorious’) also works as a semantic gloss, typical of Purāṇic toponymy where names encode the site’s spiritual efficacy.

What does descending from chariots signify in pilgrimage narration?

It marks a transition from travel to ritual action: dismounting precedes purification (snāna). Purāṇas often narrate such liminal acts to frame the river as a threshold into sacred space.