Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 69

Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

आपद्ग्राहगृहीतानां वृद्धाः सन्ति न पण्डिताः येषां मोक्ष्यितारे वै तेषां सान्तिर्न विद्यते

Transliteration

āpadgrāhagṛhītānāṃ vṛddhāḥ santi na paṇḍitāḥ yeṣāṃ mokṣyitāre vai teṣāṃ sāntirna vidyate

Translation

আপদা-রূপী কুমিরে ধৃতদের জন্য বয়োজ্যেষ্ঠরা থাকেন, তবু তাঁদের জ্ঞানী বলে মানা হয় না। যাদের মুক্তিদাতা নেই, তাদের শান্তি লাভ হয় না।

Speakers

• Not specified in input (didactic voice within the narrative frame of Adhyāya 68).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāmana/Trivikrama—contextual)

Key Themes

• Authority of elders (vṛddha-vākya)
• Crisis ethics and counsel
• Dharma as practical guidance
• Metaphor of ‘grāha’ (crocodile) for danger

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘grāha’ (crocodile/seizer) used here?

In Purāṇic idiom, grāha evokes a force that suddenly grips and drags one into danger (like a crocodile in water). The verse uses it as a vivid metaphor for āpad—calamity that overwhelms judgment—implying that rescue requires an external ‘mokṣitāra’, namely wise guidance.

Does the verse criticize elders or those in distress?

It does not deny the existence of elders; it laments that in crisis people behave ‘as if’ elders are not paṇḍitas—i.e., they ignore seasoned counsel. The absence of a ‘mokṣitāra’ is effectively the absence of heeded guidance, resulting in lack of śānti.

How does this fit the Vāmana Purāṇa’s moral agenda?

Even when the Purāṇa moves through myth and sacred geography, it repeatedly inserts nīti: dharma is preserved by listening to authoritative instruction (vṛddha-vākya), a principle later anchored by the example of Bali (68.71).