Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 89

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

यस्मान्नान्यत् परं किञ्चिद् यस्मिन् सर्वं महात्मनि यः सर्वमध्यगो ऽनन्तः सर्वगं तं नमाम्यहम्

Transliteration

yasmānnānyat paraṃ kiñcid yasmin sarvaṃ mahātmani yaḥ sarvamadhyago 'nantaḥ sarvagaṃ taṃ namāmyaham

Translation

Beyond whom there is nothing higher whatsoever; in whom, the Great Self, all this rests; who stands within the midst of all—endless— to that all-pervading One I bow.

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker concluding/continuing the stuti addressed to the Supreme indwelling Deity.

Primary Deities

• Supreme Deity (Mahātman/Ananta; implicitly Vishnu/Narayana)

Key Themes

• Supremacy of the Absolute (no higher principle)
• Immanence (indwelling in all)
• Infinity (Ananta)
• Stuti
• Non-dual-leaning Purāṇic theism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How do ‘transcendence’ and ‘immanence’ appear together in this verse?

Transcendence: ‘beyond whom nothing higher exists’ (nānyat paraṃ). Immanence: ‘in whom all rests’ and ‘who is in the midst of all’ (yasmin sarvam; sarvamadhyagaḥ). The verse holds both as simultaneous attributes of the Supreme.

Does ‘Ananta’ here refer to Śeṣa (the serpent) or to the Supreme as infinite?

In this syntactic context, anantaḥ functions primarily as an epithet meaning ‘infinite/endless’ for the praised Deity. It can resonate with Vaiṣṇava associations (Ananta-Śeṣa), but the verse itself emphasizes infinity rather than a specific iconographic figure.

What is the theological implication of ‘yasmin sarvaṃ’ (in whom all is)?

It frames the cosmos as dependent and contained within the Supreme (a support-and-abode model). This underwrites Purāṇic sacred-space logic: places become potent because the indwelling Supreme is present everywhere, yet is accessed through particular tīrthas and rites.