Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 44

Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

ततो हुताशः सुरशत्रुसैन्यं ददाह रोषात् पवनावधूतः तमभ्ययाद् दानवविश्वकर्मा मयो महाबाहुरुदग्रवीर्यः

Transliteration

tato hutāśaḥ suraśatrusainyaṃ dadāha roṣāt pavanāvadhūtaḥ tamabhyayād dānavaviśvakarmā mayo mahābāhurudagravīryaḥ

Translation

Daraufhin verbrannte Hutāśa (Agni), vom Wind angefacht, im Zorn das Heer der Feinde der Götter. Sodann rückte der Dānava „Viśvakarman“, Maya, mächtig an Armen und von furchtbarer Tapferkeit, gegen ihn vor.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (अव्यय)

• hutāśaḥ: Fire (Hutāśa)
• hutāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hutāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; name of Fire

• sura-śatru-sainyam: the army of the gods’ enemies
• sura-śatru-sainyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + śatru (प्रातिपदिक) + sainya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (genitive chain: ‘of enemies of the gods’); Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• dadāha: burned
• dadāha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• roṣāt: from anger
• roṣāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: roṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; causal ‘from anger’

• pavana-avadhūtaḥ: fanned/blown by the wind
• pavana-avadhūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavana (प्रातिपदिक) + ava-√dhū (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (instrumental sense: ‘by wind’); past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying hutāśaḥ

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• abhyayāt: approached/attacked
• abhyayāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-√yā (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• dānava-viśvakarmā: Maya, the Dānava Viśvakarmā
• dānava-viśvakarmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + viśvakarman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya/appositional: ‘Viśvakarmā among the Dānavas’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mayaḥ: Maya
• mayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mahā-bāhuḥ: mighty-armed
• mahā-bāhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Bahuvrīhi: ‘one whose arms are great’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying mayaḥ

• udagra-vīryaḥ: of exalted valor
• udagra-vīryaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udagra (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Bahuvrīhi: ‘one whose prowess is lofty’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying mayaḥ

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Purāṇic frame (commonly Pulastya → Nārada
• but not explicit in the provided verses)

Primary Deities

• Agni

Key Themes

• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Elemental forces (wind-fed fire)
• Maya as Dānava architect and strategist

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

When adharma swells, counter-forces arise through coordinated powers (wind empowering fire). The narrative also cautions that opposition is adaptive: Maya, emblem of ingenuity, responds to overwhelming force with strategy and craft.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Vamśānucarita / Carita: a battle-episode within the accounts of deva–asura antagonism, featuring prominent figures (Agni, Maya) rather than cosmogenesis or manvantara catalogues.

What is the symbolic significance?

Agni (purifying destruction) intensified by Vāyu (motion, prāṇa) represents accelerated karmic retribution and purification. Maya, the architect of illusion and technology, symbolizes the asuric reliance on contrivance—an enduring counterpoint to direct divine potency.