Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 12

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

नमस्यामि हरेश्चक्रं यस्य नाभ्यां पितामहः तुण्डे त्रिशूलधृक् शर्व आरामूले महाद्रयः

Transliteration

namasyāmi hareścakraṃ yasya nābhyāṃ pitāmahaḥ tuṇḍe triśūladhṛk śarva ārāmūle mahādrayaḥ

Translation

{"scene_description": "Inside the Vāsudeva temple, Bali lights rows of lamps with his own hands—some with fragrant oil, others with ghee—casting warm halos on the deity and pillars; smoke curls upward with incense.", "primary_figures": ["Bali", "Vāsudeva (icon/arcā-mūrti)", "priests/attendants"], "setting": "Sanctum threshold and mandapa with lamp-stands, brass vessels, oil/ghee containers.", "color_palette": ["lamp-gold", "deep maroon", "brass", "smoke-grey", "sandalwood-cream"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore style, Vāsudeva idol with gold-leaf aura, Bali offering multiple brass lamps, shimmering highlights, ornate temple pillars, rich reds and greens, devotional glow dominating the scene.", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature, intimate temple interior, soft golden lamp-light, Bali carefully lighting diyas, delicate facial expressions, minimalistic yet lyrical composition.", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural, bold contours, rhythmic rows of lamps, Bali in profile offering dīpas, Vāsudeva centered, warm ochres and reds, temple mural symmetry.", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra, stylized lamp rows and ritual vessels, Bali lighting lamps before Vāsudeva, flat natural dyes, decorative border with conch-disc motifs."}

Speakers

• Not specified in input; verse is in first-person stuti (a devotee/narrator addressing Hari/Sudarśana).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Sudarshana (Cakra)
• Brahma (Pitamaha)
• Shiva (Sarva)

Key Themes

• Cosmic symbolism of Sudarshana
• Shaiva–Vaishnava unity (Śiva located within Viṣṇu’s cosmic order)
• The wheel as a map of the universe
• Devotional praise (stuti)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Brahmā and Śiva placed ‘inside’ the cakra?

The verse uses the cakra as a cosmogram: the hub signifies the generative center (Brahmā as creator), while the rim signifies the boundary/limit and protective circumference (Śiva as the great lord associated with dissolution and guardianship). It expresses a hierarchical but integrative theology in which major deities function within Hari’s cosmic instrument.

What does ‘ārāmūle mahādrayaḥ’ imply?

By locating ‘great mountains’ at the bases of the spokes, the text imagines the world’s stabilizing masses as structural supports of the cosmic wheel—mountains as the ‘framework’ that upholds directions/regions (often symbolized by spokes).

Is this verse tied to a specific tīrtha in the Saromāhātmya?

Not directly in this line: no named tīrtha appears. In Saromāhātmya contexts, such cosmological stuti often precedes or frames a tīrtha’s praise by situating the local sacred site within a universal divine order.