Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 15

Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative

Devanagari script

तत्पूजार्थं प्रदातव्यं केशवाय महात्मने यदा संवत्सरं पूर्णमखण्डं भवते गृहे

Transliteration

tatpūjārthaṃ pradātavyaṃ keśavāya mahātmane yadā saṃvatsaraṃ pūrṇamakhaṇḍaṃ bhavate gṛhe

Translation

Zum Zwecke jener Verehrung soll man (diese Gaben) dem großherzigen Keśava darbringen, wenn ein volles Jahr vollendet ist und die häusliche Observanz ununterbrochen geblieben ist.

Word by Word

• tat-pūjā-artham: for the purpose of his worship
• tat-pūjā-artham: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pūjā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययत्वेन प्रयुक्तम्; अर्थे—‘तस्य पूजायाः निमित्तम्’ (for the purpose of worship of him)

• pradātavyam: should be given
• pradātavyam: Vidhi (विधेय/आज्ञार्थ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√dā (धाातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—तव्यत्-प्रत्यय (gerundive/obligative); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेयभावः—‘should be given’

• keśavāya: to Keśava
• keśavāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान/दत्ते), एकवचन

• mahātmane: to the great-souled one
• mahātmane: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; केशवस्य विशेषणरूपेण (as an epithet)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb/conjunction)

• saṃvatsaram: a year
• saṃvatsaram: Kāla (काल/अवधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कालपरिमाणम्

• pūrṇam: complete
• pūrṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘संवत्सरम्’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• akhaṇḍam: unbroken
• akhaṇḍam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akhaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘संवत्सरम्’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• bhavate: becomes/is
• bhavate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

Speakers

• Dialogue frame not specified in the provided excerpt (commonly Pulastya → Nārada in this Purāṇa)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Keśava)

Key Themes

• Vaishnavism
• Bhakti
• Vrata/Rituals
• Saṃvatsara-vrata (year-long observance)
• Akhaṇḍa (unbroken continuity)
• Dāna (religious gifting)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The stress on a year completed ‘akhaṇḍa’ teaches steadiness (dhṛti) in dharma: spiritual life is validated by continuity and reliability, not sporadic intensity.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is prescriptive dharma/vrata instruction (ācāra-kāṇḍa style) rather than a pancalakṣaṇa narrative unit. It functions as practical theology within the Purāṇa’s broader instructional scope.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Akhaṇḍa’ signifies an undivided vow and an undistracted mind. The year-cycle (saṃvatsara) symbolizes completeness of time offered to the deity—devotion spanning seasons, not moments.