Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 40
Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative
कश्चसौ महिषो नाम कुले जातश्च कस्य सः कश्चासौ रक्तबीजाख्यो नमरः कस्य चात्मजः एतद्विस्तरतस्तात यथावद् वक्तुमर्हसिः
kaścasau mahiṣo nāma kule jātaśca kasya saḥ kaścāsau raktabījākhyo namaraḥ kasya cātmajaḥ etadvistaratastāta yathāvad vaktumarhasiḥ
“Who is this one named Mahiṣa—of what lineage was he born, and whose son is he? And who is that asura called Raktabīja—whose son is he? Explain this to me in detail, revered sir, just as it truly happened.”
{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse models śāstric inquiry: liberation-oriented listening begins with precise questioning about causes (origins, lineage, actions). In Purāṇic pedagogy, right questions invite a purifying narrative (kathā) that transforms the listener.
Primarily within Vaṃśānucarita (accounts of lineages) and Manvantara/Anucarita-style narrative expansion, since the question requests the birth-line and parentage of prominent asuras.
Mahiṣa and Raktabīja function as archetypes of tamasic distortion: ‘Mahiṣa’ evokes brute, deluding force; ‘Raktabīja’ (blood-seed) evokes proliferating desire/violence. Asking their origins frames the forthcoming teaching on how such forces arise and are overcome.