Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

विलपन्तं जनं दृष्ट्वा कृपा कस्य न जायते विशेषतः पतिं बाले ननुप त्वमतिनिर्घृणा

Transliteration

vilapantaṃ janaṃ dṛṣṭvā kṛpā kasya na jāyate viśeṣataḥ patiṃ bāle nanupa tvamatinirghṛṇā

Translation

Wenn man einen Menschen klagen sieht, bei wem erwacht da nicht Mitgefühl? Erst recht beim Anblick deines Gatten, o junges Mädchen—bist du denn überaus erbarmungslos?

Word by Word

• vilapantam: lamenting
• vilapantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-lap (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय), परस्मैपदी; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• janam: a person / people
• janam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable)

• kṛpā: compassion
• kṛpā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛpā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• kasya: of whom
• kasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• jāyate: arises / is born
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे/कर्तरि (intransitive ‘arises’)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• patim: husband / lord
• patim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bāle: O girl / O young woman
• bāle: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• nanu: indeed / surely
• nanu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nanu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/confirmatory particle)

• api: even / also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: even/also)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ati-nirghṛṇā: excessively merciless
• ati-nirghṛṇā: Karta-pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + nirghṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपसर्गपूर्वक-विशेषण: अति + निर्घृणा)

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker rebuking a young woman for lack of compassion toward her husband (exact identities not provided in input).

Key Themes

• Dharma of compassion
• Householder ethics (gṛhastha-dharma)
• Reproach as moral instruction
• Emotional rhetoric in Purāṇic narrative

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Compassion is presented as a near-universal reflex of the virtuous; failure to respond to evident suffering—particularly within a protected relationship like marriage—is framed as adharma. The verse uses social ethics to shame callousness and restore empathy.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Again, narrative-ethical instruction within Vamśānucarita/ākhyāna style material, not a cosmological creation account. Purāṇas often embed dharma-teachings in emotional scenes to make norms memorable.

What is the symbolic significance?

Symbolically, ‘the lamenting husband’ can stand for the dependent soul (jīva) appealing to prakṛti/ego or to the beloved deity; the charge of ‘mercilessness’ critiques spiritual indifference—seeing suffering yet remaining unmoved.