Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 36

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

मुनीन् मनुजसाध्यांश्च पशुकीटपिपीलिकान् वृक्षगुल्मान् गिरीन् वल्ल्यः फलमूलौषधानि च

Transliteration

munīn manujasādhyāṃśca paśukīṭapipīlikān vṛkṣagulmān girīn vallyaḥ phalamūlauṣadhāni ca

Translation

haraḥ: Śiva; prāha: said/spoke; vacaḥ: words; yaśasyam: fame-conferring, glorious (bringing renown); mālinī: ‘the garlanded one’—a named goddess/attendant; jayā: ‘Victory’ (personified); vijayā: ‘Complete victory’ (personified); jayantī: ‘Victorious one’ (personified); aparājitā: ‘Unconquered’ (personified, invincible).

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) completing the inventory of beings and natural forms perceived in the divine interior.

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Totality of creation (sentient and insentient)
• Ecological/cosmological inclusivity
• Hierarchy-free divine immanence (from gods to ants and herbs)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse include tiny creatures like ants alongside sages and celestial beings?

The rhetorical aim is completeness: the divine contains all scales of life. By pairing exalted beings (munis, Sādhyas) with the smallest (pipīlikā), the text asserts an all-pervading sacred reality without exclusion.

What do ‘phala–mūla–auṣadhi’ add to the cosmological list?

They extend the inventory from beings to sustenance and healing—food (fruits/roots) and medicine (herbs). This frames the cosmos as a living, supportive system present within the deity, not merely a catalog of creatures.

Is ‘giri’ here a specific sacred mountain?

No. The term is generic (‘mountains’). Unlike tīrtha sections that name specific sites, this passage is cosmographic and intentionally non-localized.