Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 55

Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

असिपत्रवनं चान्यत्सहस्राणि द्विसप्ततिः योजनानां परिख्यातमष्टमं नरकोत्तमम्

Transliteration

asipatravanaṃ cānyatsahasrāṇi dvisaptatiḥ yojanānāṃ parikhyātamaṣṭamaṃ narakottamam

Translation

وهناك جحيمٌ آخر يُدعى «أَسِيبَتْرَفَنَ» (Asipatravana)، مشهورٌ بأن امتداده اثنان وسبعون ألف يوجَنَة؛ وقد أُعلن أنه الجحيم الثامن، وهو من أعظم الجحيمات.

Word by Word

• असि-पत्र-वनम्: Asipatravana (forest of sword-leaves)
• असि-पत्र-वनम्: कर्ता/कर्म (listed name; context of enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; नरकनाम

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• अन्यत्: another
• अन्यत्: विशेषण (of असिपत्रवनम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: परिमाण/संख्या (measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक

• द्वि-सप्ततिः: seventy-two
• द्वि-सप्ततिः: परिमाण/संख्या (measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक) + सप्तति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास = 72

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive of measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• परिख्यातम्: well-known/renowned
• परिख्यातम्: विशेषण (of असिपत्रवनम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-√ख्या (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘well-known/renowned’

• अष्टमम्: eighth
• अष्टमम्: विशेषण (of नरकोत्तमम्/असिपत्रवनम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक

• नरक-उत्तमम्: Narakottama (‘best’/chief hell)
• नरक-उत्तमम्: अप्पोजिशन/विशेष्य (apposition to असिपत्रवनम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नाम/विशेष्य (best among hells)

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame for Vāmana Purāṇa; not explicit in the provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Dharma and consequences
• Naraka description
• Ethical causality (karma-phala)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text reinforces karma-phala: actions have proportionate consequences, and the vivid mapping of narakas functions as deterrence and as ethical instruction toward dharma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This passage aligns best with Dharma/ācāra and karma-phala instruction (not one of the strict five like sarga/pratisarga, but commonly embedded within purāṇic teaching sections that support varṇāśrama-dharma and moral causality).

What is the symbolic significance?

Asipatravana (“sword-leaf forest”) symbolizes the self-harming nature of adharma: one’s own misdeeds become the cutting ‘leaves’ that wound the doer, stressing moral retribution as intrinsic rather than arbitrary.