Vamana Purana — Narada Questions Pulastya, Shloka 15

Narada Questions Pulastya: The Vamana Purana Begins and Satī’s Monsoon Lament

Devanagari script

निदाघान्ते समुद्रभूतो निर्जनाचरितो ऽद्भुतः घनान्धकारिताशो वै प्रावृट्कालोषतिरागवान्

Transliteration

nidāghānte samudrabhūto nirjanācarito 'dbhutaḥ ghanāndhakāritāśo vai prāvṛṭkāloṣatirāgavān

Translation

Am Ende des Sommers erhob sich die wundersame Regenzeit, die einsame Orte heimsucht; die Himmelsrichtungen wurden von dichten Wolken verdunkelt, und ihre Wucht war überaus heftig.

Word by Word

• निदाघान्ते: at the end of the hot season
• निदाघान्ते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nidāgha-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (निदाघस्य अन्तः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कालाधिकरण

• समुद्रभूतः: having become like an ocean
• समुद्रभूतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samudra-bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (समुद्रः इव/समुद्र-भूतः ‘become like an ocean’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• निर्जनाचरितः: unfrequented, deserted
• निर्जनाचरितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-jana-ācarita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (निर्जनैः आचरितः/निर्जन-आचरितः ‘frequented by none/solitary’); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अद्भुतः: wonderful, astonishing
• अद्भुतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• घनान्धकारिताशः: whose directions were darkened by thick clouds
• घनान्धकारिताशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghana-andhakārita-āśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (घनैः अन्धकारिता आशाः यस्य/घन-अन्धकारित-आशः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• प्रावृट्कालः: the rainy season time
• प्रावृट्कालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāvṛṭ-kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रावृट्-ऋतुः + कालः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उषतिरागवान्: having a pleasing/bright hue
• उषतिरागवान्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uṣati-rāga-vat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उषति-रागः + वत् ‘possessing’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रावृट्कालः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speakers

• Narratorial description (context addressed to Nārada in prior verse)

Key Themes

• Ritu-varṇana
• Nature imagery
• Ascetic setting
• Atmospheric transformation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Time and nature change irresistibly; the ascetic life witnesses these cycles without clinging. The passage encourages attentiveness to impermanence and acceptance of shifting conditions.

How does this fit the Pañcalakṣaṇa?

This is ancillary descriptive narration supporting the main ākhyāna; it is not a pañcalakṣaṇa pillar (sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita) but serves the carita framework.

What is the symbolic significance?

The cloud-darkened directions can symbolize obscuration before renewal: rains both conceal and replenish, mirroring how periods of ‘darkness’ may precede spiritual or narrative turning points.