Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 31

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

तदाप्रभृति कालिन्द्या भृङ्गाञ्जननिभं जलम् आस्यन्दत् पुण्यतीर्था सा केशपाशमिवावने

Transliteration

tadāprabhṛti kālindyā bhṛṅgāñjananibhaṃ jalam āsyandat puṇyatīrthā sā keśapāśamivāvane

Translation

Von da an floss das Wasser der Kāлиндī dunkel, gleich einer schwarzen Biene oder dem Kajal; und jener Fluss, ein heiliger Tīrtha, strömte über die Erde wie ein geflochtener Haarzopf.

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then/at that time’

• prabhṛti: from (that time) onward
• prabhṛti: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (postposition/adverb): ‘from, starting from’

• kālindyāḥ: of Kālindī (Yamunā)
• kālindyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālindī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bhṛṅga-añjana-nibham: bee-collyrium-like (very black)
• bhṛṅga-añjana-nibham: Karma (कर्म) (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhṛṅga + añjana + nibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘like collyrium of a bee’ i.e., very black); agrees with jalam

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here प्रथमा (subject)

• āsyandat: flowed/oozed forth
• āsyandat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+syand (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puṇyatīrthā: (she) the holy tīrtha
• puṇyatīrthā: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘holy’ + ‘ford/place of pilgrimage’); predicate adjective of sā (kālindī)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• keśa-pāśam: a tress/mass of hair
• keśa-pāśam: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśa + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘a mass/coil of hair’)

• iva: like
• iva: Upamāna-dyotaka (उपमान-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (upamā particle): ‘like’

• avane: on the ground/earth
• avane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrative voice (dialogue frame not explicit in the provided excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva (implied as causal agent from prior verse)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha Mahatmya
• Etiological myth
• Poetic imagery in Purāṇic description

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Pilgrimage is framed not merely as travel but as contact with storied sanctity: the river’s very appearance becomes a reminder of divine history, encouraging śraddhā (reverent trust) and restraint in one’s interaction with sacred waters.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is tīrtha-prasaṃśā/mahatmya material (a descriptive continuation of a geographic origin story). It supports dharma (snāna, pilgrimage, reverence) rather than genealogical or cosmic creation cycles.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘collyrium-like’ blackness evokes auspicious beauty and potency (añjana as protective/beautifying), while the ‘braid of hair’ simile subtly aligns the river with Śiva’s iconography (matted hair and the descent of waters), reinforcing sectarian harmony through shared symbolism.