Vamana Purana — Caturmasya Observances, Shloka 14

The Cāturmāsya Observances and the Sleeping–Awakening Cycle of the Gods (Hari–Hara Worship)

Devanagari script

नूनं कान्ताविहीनेन केनचिच्चक्रपत्त्रिणा उत्सृष्टं जीवितं शून्ये फूत्कृत्य सरितस्तटे

Transliteration

nūnaṃ kāntāvihīnena kenaciccakrapattriṇā utsṛṣṭaṃ jīvitaṃ śūnye phūtkṛtya saritastaṭe

Translation

Surely, some man—bereft of his beloved—has cast away his life in this desolate place, after uttering a loud cry upon the bank of the river.

Word by Word

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (certainly)

• कान्ताविहीनेन: by/with one bereft of his beloved
• कान्ताविहीनेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कान्ता (प्रातिपदिक) + विहीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कान्तया विहीनः = bereft of beloved)

• केनचित्: by someone
• केनचित्: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थे ‘चित्’ प्रत्यय (someone)

• चक्रपत्त्रिणा: by the discus-bearing one (Viṣṇu)
• चक्रपत्त्रिणा: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्त्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (चक्रं पत्त्रम् अस्य/चक्रपत्त्रिन् = one having a discus as weapon; epithet of Viṣṇu)

• उत्सृष्टम्: abandoned / cast off
• उत्सृष्टम्: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण/भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्सृष्ट (कृदन्त; √सृज् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपसर्गः उत्-; √सृज् (to release/abandon)

• जीवितम्: life
• जीवितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शून्ये: in an empty place
• शून्ये: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शून्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• फूत्कृत्य: having hissed / snorted
• फूत्कृत्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √फूत्कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), √फूत्कृ (to hiss/snort/blow)

• सरितः: of the river
• सरितः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• तटे: on the bank
• तटे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Pulastya–Nārada frame (exact verse-speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-māhātmya setting
• Viraha and grief
• Mortality and lament

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse foregrounds the destructive potential of uncontrolled grief and attachment (śoka/viraha). In a tīrtha setting, such lament implicitly contrasts human fragility with the stabilizing role of dharma and sacred space, which traditionally redirects sorrow into remembrance, merit, and inner restraint.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa?

This is best categorized under Vamśānucarita/Carita-type narrative material (ancillary episode within a larger māhātmya), rather than cosmological Sarga/Pratisarga. It functions as illustrative storytelling embedded in a pilgrimage-topography discourse.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘riverbank’ marks a liminal zone—between continuity (flowing water) and cessation (death). The ‘cry’ (phūtkāra) externalizes inner collapse, symbolizing how separation (viraha) can make the world feel ‘empty’ (śūnya) even amid sacred geography.