Shloka 63

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

Devanagari script

स्वर्गं गते धातरि वासुदेवे शाल्वो ऽसुराणां महता बलेन कृत्वा पुरं सौभमिति प्रसिद्धं तदान्तरिक्षे विचचार कामात्

Transliteration

svargaṃ gate dhātari vāsudeve śālvo 'surāṇāṃ mahatā balena kṛtvā puraṃ saubhamiti prasiddhaṃ tadāntarikṣe vicacāra kāmāt

Translation

ধাতা (স্রষ্টা) স্বর্গে গমন করলে, অসুরদের মহাবলে শাল্ব ‘সৌভ’ নামে প্রসিদ্ধ এক নগর নির্মাণ করে, কামবশে সেই নগরকে অন্তরীক্ষে বিচরণ করাল।

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing Daitya histories (speaker-to-audience not specified in prompt)

Primary Deities

• Vāsudeva (Viṣṇu)
• Dhātṛ (Brahmā)

Key Themes

• Asura power and magical cities
• Aerial/otherworldly geography
• Cosmic realms (svarga, antarikṣa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Śālva here, and what is ‘Saubha’ in Purāṇic tradition?

Śālva is a famed adversary figure associated with an extraordinary moving city called Saubha. Across Purāṇic and epic materials, Saubha is portrayed as a magically engineered fortress capable of traveling in the sky, used to harass gods and kings.

Why does the verse mention ‘svargaṃ gate dhātari’ (Dhātṛ gone to heaven)?

It signals a cosmic moment of transition—when the Creator is ‘away’—as a narrative device to introduce Asuric ascendancy and the construction of extraordinary strongholds, emphasizing the cyclical rise of Daityas when divine order is not manifestly intervening.

Is there any tīrtha-geography in this verse?

Not in the terrestrial sense (rivers, lakes, forests). The geography is cosmological: svarga (heaven) and antarikṣa (mid-sky), plus the named aerial city Saubha.