Shloka 3
The Episode of Vena: Purification, the ‘Vāsudevābhidhā’ Hymn, and the Dharma of Charity
Times, Tīrthas, Worthy Recipients
पश्चाद्वेनः स पुण्यात्मा ज्ञानं लेभे च शाश्वतम् । रेवाया दक्षिणे कूले तपश्चचार स द्विजाः
paścādvenaḥ sa puṇyātmā jñānaṃ lebhe ca śāśvatam | revāyā dakṣiṇe kūle tapaścacāra sa dvijāḥ
Danach erlangte jener rechtschaffene Vena ewige geistige Erkenntnis; und, o Brāhmaṇas, er übte Askese am südlichen Ufer der Revā (Narmadā).
Unspecified narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing dvijāḥ)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पश्चाद्वेनः = पश्चात् + वेनः; तपश्चचार = तपः + चचार. 'द्विजाः' appears metrically as a vocative address; expected vocative singular 'द्विज'/'द्विजोत्तम'—kept as transmitted form with note.
FAQs
It places Vena’s austerities specifically on the southern bank of the Revā, reflecting the Purāṇic habit of grounding spiritual transformation in identifiable tīrthas and riverbanks associated with penance and merit.
It presents a sequence: Vena attains enduring spiritual knowledge and is then described as practicing austerities, implying that tapas is a sustaining discipline that supports or follows realized wisdom in Purāṇic spirituality.
The epithet suggests moral rehabilitation and inner transformation: regardless of prior status, one becomes “righteous-souled” through sincere pursuit of knowledge and disciplined practice (tapas) at sacred places.