Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 11

Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti

Devanagari script

कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैरूर्ध्वमूलैरथोरुभिः विभाति सा सुचार्वङ्गी पद्मकिढ्जल्कसन्निभा

Transliteration

kadalīstambhasadṛśairūrdhvamūlairathorubhiḥ vibhāti sā sucārvaṅgī padmakiḍhjalkasannibhā

Translation

Mit Schenkeln wie Bananenstämme, gleichsam „nach oben verwurzelt“ (anmutig zulaufend), erstrahlt sie, schön an Gliedern, wie ein zarter Schimmer, der den aus dem Lotos Geborenen eigen ist.

Word by Word

• कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैः: with (thighs) like banana-stems
• कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कदली + स्तम्भ + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case, Instrumental), बहुवचन; compound: कदलीस्तम्भस्य सदृशः (like a banana-stem)

• ऊर्ध्वमूलैः: having upward roots (i.e., tapering upward)
• ऊर्ध्वमूलैः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ऊर्ध्वं मूलं येषाम्/येषु (having roots upward)

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; discourse particle (निपात)

• ऊरुभिः: with thighs
• ऊरुभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case, Instrumental), बहुवचन

• विभाति: shines/appears splendid
• विभाति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भा (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case, Nominative), एकवचन

• सुचार्वङ्गी: she of very beautiful limbs
• सुचार्वङ्गी: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + चारु + अङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: सुचारूणि अङ्गानि यस्याः सा

• पद्मकिḍ्जल्कसन्निभा: resembling lotus filaments/pollen
• पद्मकिḍ्जल्कसन्निभा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म + किञ्जल्क + सन्निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पद्मकिञ्जल्कस्य सन्निभा (resembling lotus-filaments/pollen)

Speakers

• Not stated in the provided excerpt (often Pulastya ↔ Nārada in the Purāṇic frame
• but unspecified here)

Primary Deities

• Śrī/Lakṣmī

Key Themes

• Vaishnavism
• Devī iconography
• Alaṅkāra (poetic ornamentation)
• Auspicious beauty (śrī-lakṣaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text frames beauty as a manifestation of auspiciousness (śrī) and harmony; the Goddess’s form becomes a didactic symbol that the cosmos is intelligible through proportion, balance, and auspicious signs.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily stuti/varṇana within an ākhyāna setting; it does not advance sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/Manvantara/vaṃśānucarita directly.

What is the symbolic significance?

Plantain-trunk imagery connotes fertility, abundance, and auspicious household prosperity—key Lakṣmī associations—while the lotus-shimmer evokes purity and spontaneous grace arising from the primordial waters.