Vamana Purana — Harihara Non-Duality, Shloka 16

Harihara Non-Duality and the Revelation of Sadasiva to the Ganas

Devanagari script

महापाशुपता नाम चक्रशूलधरास्तथा भैरवो विष्णुना सार्द्धमभेदेनार्चितो हि यै

Transliteration

mahāpāśupatā nāma cakraśūladharāstathā bhairavo viṣṇunā sārddhamabhedenārcito hi yai

Translation

Und (es kamen) die sogenannten „Mahāpāśupatas“, die Diskus und Dreizack trugen. Von ihnen wurde Bhairava zusammen mit Viṣṇu wahrlich als nicht-verschieden verehrt.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic narrator) to the listener (traditional frame: Pulastya to Nārada)

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Vishnu
• Bhairava

Key Themes

• Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava unity (abheda)
• Syncretic iconography (cakra + śūla)
• Pāśupata identity and devotion

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the significance of bearing both cakra and śūla?

It is a deliberate syncretic emblem: cakra signals Viṣṇu’s sovereignty and protection, while śūla signals Śiva’s transformative power. Together they encode the Purāṇic claim that the supreme functions of preservation and dissolution are harmonized in the divine order.

How should ‘abheda’ be understood here—philosophically or devotionally?

Primarily devotionally and theologically: the worshippers revere Bhairava and Viṣṇu as non-separate in essence, a common Purāṇic strategy to reconcile sectarian devotion within a single sacred narrative.

Does this verse contribute to the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographic program?

Not directly. No tīrtha, river, mountain, or forest is named; the verse is doctrinal, emphasizing unity and the composition of divine hosts in the Andhaka episode.