Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 40

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

उत्तरांशास्त्रयो ऋक्षं श्रवणं मकरो मुने धनिष्ठार्धं शतभिषा जानुनी परमेष्ठिनः

Transliteration

uttarāṃśāstrayo ṛkṣaṃ śravaṇaṃ makaro mune dhaniṣṭhārdhaṃ śatabhiṣā jānunī parameṣṭhinaḥ

Translation

O Weiser, die drei nördlichen Abschnitte—zusammen mit Śravaṇa und Makara (Steinbock)—sowie die hintere Hälfte von Dhaniṣṭhā mitsamt Śatabhiṣā sind die beiden Knie des höchsten Herrn.

Word by Word

• uttara-aṃśāḥ: the northern portions
• uttara-aṃśāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘उत्तराः अंशाः’

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• ṛkṣam: the Bear (constellation) / asterism-name
• ṛkṣam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन

• śravaṇam: Śravaṇa (asterism)
• śravaṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• makaraḥ: Makara (Capricorn/crocodile)
• makaraḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• dhaniṣṭhā-ardham: half of Dhaniṣṭhā
• dhaniṣṭhā-ardham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhaniṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘धनिष्ठायाः अर्धम्’

• śatabhiṣā: Śatabhiṣā (asterism)
• śatabhiṣā: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatabhiṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• jānunī: the two knees
• jānunī: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), द्विवचन

• parameṣṭhinaḥ: of Parameṣṭhin (Brahmā)
• parameṣṭhinaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameṣṭhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), एकवचन

Speakers

• Not explicit in the provided excerpt; likely within a sage-to-sage narration
• but not provable from this snippet

Primary Deities

• Parameṣṭhin (Supreme Lord)

Key Themes

• Jyotiṣa
• Nakṣatra and rāśi mapping
• Cosmic body symbolism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By identifying ‘knees’ with specific sky-divisions, the text invites meditative integration: one’s understanding of time-cycles can become devotion, seeing the divine in the very joints that ‘articulate’ cosmic movement.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily Sarga-type cosmological structuring (how the manifested order is mapped and understood), with a secondary function as a devotional aid (upāsanā) through cosmic visualization.

What is the symbolic significance?

Knees signify flexion and transition—symbolically mirroring how nakṣatras and rāśis mark transitions in lunar/solar motion. The mapping sacralizes change itself as a divine articulation rather than randomness.