Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 69

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

तृतीयस्तमसो माम शेषमूर्तिः सहस्रपात् सहस्रवदनः श्रीमान् प्रजाप्रलयकारकः

Transliteration

tṛtīyastamaso māma śeṣamūrtiḥ sahasrapāt sahasravadanaḥ śrīmān prajāpralayakārakaḥ

Translation

Das dritte Prinzip ist von Tamas. Es ist Meine Gestalt als Śeṣa—tausendfüßig, tausendgesichtig, ruhmvoll—die zur Zeit des Pralaya die Auflösung der Wesen bewirkt.

Word by Word

• तृतीयः: third
• तृतीयः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ordinal adjective

• तमसः: of tamas/darkness
• तमसः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• माम: me
• माम: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; 1st person pronoun

• शेषमूर्तिः: Śeṣa-form
• शेषमूर्तिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (form of Śeṣa)

• सहस्रपात्: thousand-footed
• सहस्रपात्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + पाद्/पात् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (having a thousand feet)

• सहस्रवदनः: thousand-faced
• सहस्रवदनः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (thousand-faced)

• श्रीमान्: splendid/fortunate
• श्रीमान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; possessive adjective (मतुप्)

• प्रजाप्रलयकारकः: cause/agent of the dissolution of beings
• प्रजाप्रलयकारकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक) + कारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (maker/agent of the dissolution of creatures)

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher figure addressing a sage (mahāmune implied in the surrounding passage)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shesha (Ananta)

Key Themes

• Guṇa theory (tamas)
• Cosmic dissolution (pralaya)
• Viṣṇu’s cosmic forms
• Mythic cosmography (Ananta as cosmic support)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is Śeṣa described as a ‘tāmasa’ form here?

In Purāṇic guṇa-cosmology, tamas governs heaviness, inertia, and reabsorption. Śeṣa, as the cosmic remainder/support and as a principle connected with the winding-down of manifest creation, is framed as a tamas-associated manifestation in this enumerative scheme.

Does ‘thousand-faced, thousand-footed’ mean a literal number?

It is a conventional Purāṇic epithet indicating immeasurable magnitude and omnipresence. ‘Sahasra’ functions as ‘countless,’ expressing cosmic scale rather than a strict numeral.

What does ‘prajā-pralaya-kāraka’ imply about Śeṣa’s role?

It presents Śeṣa as an instrumentality of pralaya—creation is withdrawn and beings are reabsorbed into the unmanifest. The verse emphasizes that dissolution, like creation, proceeds under the Lord’s own cosmic modalities.