Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 66

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

Devanagari script

सातत्येन हृषीकेशं पूजयित्वा तु यत्फलम् सुचीर्णतपसां नॄणां तता फलं न कदाचन

Transliteration

sātatyena hṛṣīkeśaṃ pūjayitvā tu yatphalam sucīrṇatapasāṃ nṝṇāṃ tatā phalaṃ na kadācana

Translation

হৃষীকেশকে অবিচ্ছিন্নভাবে পূজা করলে যে ফল লাভ হয়, সেই ফল সুদীর্ঘকাল উত্তম তপস্যা করা মানুষেরও অন্যভাবে কখনও লাভ হয় না।

Speakers

• Narratorial/teacher voice within the tīrtha-māhātmya discourse (speaker not specified in the given excerpt) addressing the listener/pilgrim.

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Hṛṣīkeśa)

Key Themes

• Bhakti superior to mere tapas
• Nitya-pūjā (continuous worship)
• Phala-śruti (promise of merit)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the doctrinal point of comparing continuous worship to long austerities?

The verse asserts a Purāṇic hierarchy of means: sustained devotion (bhakti expressed as uninterrupted pūjā) yields a fruit portrayed as rarer than that gained through prolonged tapas alone. It is not a denial of tapas, but a valuation of God-centered continuity over self-powered ascetic effort.

Why is Viṣṇu called Hṛṣīkeśa here?

Hṛṣīkeśa means “Lord of the senses,” indicating mastery and governance of the faculties. In a devotional-ethical setting, it implies that worship aligns the senses toward the divine, which is presented as more efficacious than austerity performed without such anchoring.

Does this verse specify a particular tīrtha practice?

Not directly. It functions as a general instruction embedded in a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter: wherever the pilgrim is, the recommended ‘practice’ is continuity of worship, which the text treats as a portable, always-available discipline.