Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

ततो माधवकन्दर्पौ ताश्चैवाप्सरसो वराः बदर्याश्रममागम्य विचिक्रीडुर्यथेच्छया

Transliteration

tato mādhavakandarpau tāścaivāpsaraso varāḥ badaryāśramamāgamya vicikrīḍuryathecchayā

Translation

Darauf kamen Mādhava und Kandarpā zusammen mit jenen vortrefflichen Apsaras nach Badaryāśrama und ergötzten sich dort nach Belieben.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence/time

• mādhava-kandarpau: Mādhava and Kandarpa
• mādhava-kandarpau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava + kandarpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Dual (द्विवचन); dvandva compound naming two persons

• tāḥ: they (those women)
• tāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle (निपात)

• apsarasaḥ: Apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• apsarasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन)

• varāḥ: excellent, choice
• varāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग) usage, Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying apsarasaḥ

• badarī-āśramam: to the Badarī hermitage
• badarī-āśramam: Karma (कर्म) / Gati-Karma (गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: badarī + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘badaryāḥ āśramaḥ’

• āgamya: having come
• āgamya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + gam (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), ‘having come/arrived’

• vicikrīḍuḥ: they played/sported
• vicikrīḍuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Plural (बहुवचन)

• yathā-icchayā: as they wished / at will
• yathā-icchayā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā + icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound functioning adverbially; instrumental sense ‘according to desire’

Speakers

• Narrative layer not explicit in the given verse-set; commonly Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa framing

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Mādhava)
• Kāma (Kandarpā)

Key Themes

• Sacred geography
• Āśrama milieu
• Seasonal/poetic description
• Divine play (līlā)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even in a sacred hermitage, the text depicts the presence of powerful aesthetic forces (love, beauty, play). The implicit lesson is discernment: the āśrama is a testing-ground where allure may appear, and steadiness of mind is required for tapas and dharma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classified under Vamśānucarita/Carita-style narration (episodic descriptive narrative around sacred places and divine figures), rather than sarga/pratisarga (cosmogony) or manvantara.

What is the symbolic significance?

Mādhava (divine order/preservation) alongside Kandarpā (desire) signals the Purāṇic view that kāma is a cosmic principle that must be harmonized with dharma—especially in pilgrimage/āśrama settings where inner discipline is central.