Shloka 41

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

दानं भूमिः सर्वकामप्रदेयं भवान् पात्रं देवदेवो जितात्मा कालो ज्येष्ठामूलयोगे मृगाङ्गः कुरुक्षेत्रं पुण्यदेशं प्रसिद्धम्

Transliteration

dānaṃ bhūmiḥ sarvakāmapradeyaṃ bhavān pātraṃ devadevo jitātmā kālo jyeṣṭhāmūlayoge mṛgāṅgaḥ kurukṣetraṃ puṇyadeśaṃ prasiddham

Translation

“The gift of land is a bestower of all desired aims. You are the worthy recipient—God of gods, self-controlled. Time (itself), joined with the asterisms Jyeṣṭhā and Mūla, and the moon—(all are sanctified here). Kurukṣetra is renowned as a holy region.”

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (a speaker praising the supreme deity while extolling Kurukṣetra).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (implied as Devadeva/supreme Lord)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha/Deśa Mahimā (sanctity of place)
• Dāna (especially bhūmi-dāna)
• Ritual-astronomical auspiciousness (nakṣatra-yoga)
• Supreme deity as the ideal pātra

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘bhūmi-dāna’ (gift of land) singled out as ‘sarvakāmaprada’ (granting all aims)?

In Dharmaśāstra and Purāṇic ethics, land sustains sacrifice, livelihood, and hospitality; donating it is treated as a comprehensive support of dharma. Hence it is praised as yielding broad fruits—prosperity, merit, and spiritual advancement—when given to a worthy recipient (pātra).

What is the significance of mentioning Jyeṣṭhā and Mūla nakṣatras and the moon?

Purāṇic tīrtha-praise often blends geography with sacred time. By invoking nakṣatra-conjunctions (yoga) and the moon (mṛgāṅga), the verse signals that Kurukṣetra is sanctified not only spatially but also through auspicious/meaningful calendrical moments tied to ritual observance.

How does this verse reflect the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographic orientation?

Even when praising a deity, the verse anchors merit in a named landscape—Kurukṣetra—treating it as a ‘puṇya-deśa’ whose fame is part of sacred cartography. This is characteristic of the text’s tendency to map holiness onto specific regions.