Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 47
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
स दह्यमानो दितिजो ऽग्निनाथ सुविस्वरं घोरतरं रुराव सिंहाभिपन्नो विपिने यथैव मत्तो गजः क्रन्दति वेदनार्त्तः
sa dahyamāno ditijo 'gninātha suvisvaraṃ ghorataraṃ rurāva siṃhābhipanno vipine yathaiva matto gajaḥ krandati vedanārttaḥ
দগ্ধ হতে থাকা সেই দিতিপুত্র, হে অগ্নিনাথ, অত্যন্ত উচ্চ ও ভয়ংকর স্বরে গর্জন করল—যেমন বনে সিংহের আক্রমণে ব্যথায় উন্মত্ত হাতি আর্তনাদ করে।
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FAQs
Power without righteousness collapses into helpless suffering; the verse uses a vivid animal simile to show that arrogance (the ‘maddened elephant’) becomes vulnerability when confronted by a superior force aligned with cosmic law.
This is episodic narrative (carita) within the broader Purāṇic framework; it supports dharma-teaching through exemplum rather than contributing to sarga/pratisarga genealogical catalogues.
The lion-versus-elephant image encodes a hierarchy of forces: concentrated, incisive power (lion/Agni’s consuming principle) overwhelms diffuse might (elephant/daitya strength), indicating that inner principle (tejas) subdues brute force.