Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 34

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

Devanagari script

क्षणं गायति देवर्षे क्षणं रोदिति शङ्करः क्षणं ध्यायति तन्वङ्गीं दक्षकन्यां मनोरमाम्

Transliteration

kṣaṇaṃ gāyati devarṣe kṣaṇaṃ roditi śaṅkaraḥ kṣaṇaṃ dhyāyati tanvaṅgīṃ dakṣakanyāṃ manoramām

Translation

O göttlicher Seher, einen Augenblick singt Śaṅkara; einen Augenblick weint er; einen Augenblick versenkt er sich in die Meditation über die schlankgliedrige, bezaubernde Tochter Dakṣas.

Word by Word

• क्षणम्: for a moment
• क्षणम्: कालाधिकरण (temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; काल-परिमाणार्थे अव्ययीभाव (adverbial accusative)

• गायति: sings
• गायति: क्रिया (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै/गा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• देवर्षे: O divine sage
• देवर्षे: सम्बोधन (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (देव + ऋषि); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• क्षणम्: for a moment
• क्षणम्: कालाधिकरण (temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचन; काल-परिमाणार्थे

• रोदिति: weeps/cries
• रोदिति: क्रिया (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शङ्करः: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• शङ्करः: कर्ता (Karta/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्षणम्: for a moment
• क्षणम्: कालाधिकरण (temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचन; काल-परिमाणार्थे

• ध्यायति: meditates/thinks of
• ध्यायति: क्रिया (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तन्वङ्गीम्: the slender-limbed woman
• तन्वङ्गीम्: कर्म (Karma/object of ध्यायति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तन्वङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (तनु + अङ्ग; ‘whose limbs are slender’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दक्षकन्याम्: Dakṣa’s daughter
• दक्षकन्याम्: कर्म (Karma/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षकन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दक्षस्य कन्या); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तन्वङ्गीम् इत्यस्य समानाधिकरण (appositional)

• मनोरमाम्: charming/beautiful
• मनोरमाम्: विशेषण (adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मनोरमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying दक्षकन्याम्)

Speakers

• Narrator addressing ‘devarṣi’ (likely Nārada within the frame-dialogue)

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Sati (Dakṣa’s daughter)
• Daksha

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Bhakti (divine love)
• Viraha (separation)
• Meditation (dhyāna)
• Emotional fluctuation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shringara", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse legitimizes intense emotion within a sacred life: song, tears, and meditation can coexist. It teaches that devotion and remembrance (smaraṇa/dhyāna) transform grief into a spiritual mode rather than mere despair.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Carita (narrative episode) connected to deva-carita and the Dakṣa-Satī cycle (often embedded within broader mythic histories). It is not a creation or dissolution passage; it supports dharma-teaching through exemplary divine conduct.

What is the symbolic significance?

The repeated ‘kṣaṇam’ depicts the mind’s waves (vṛtti): aesthetic expression (gāna), sorrow (rodana), and yogic recollection (dhyāna). Satī as ‘Dakṣa-kanyā’ anchors the memory in the Dakṣa-yajña rupture—an emblem of how wounded honor/ritual conflict can culminate in transformative devotion.