Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 1

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

इति श्रीवामनपुराणे चतुस्त्रिंशो ऽध्यायः ब्रह्मोवाच परदाराभिगमनं पापीयांसोपसेवनम् पारुष्यं सर्वभूतानां प्रथमं नरकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

iti śrīvāmanapurāṇe catustriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ brahmovāca paradārābhigamanaṃ pāpīyāṃsopasevanam pāruṣyaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ prathamaṃ narakaṃ smṛtam

Translation

(Colophon:) Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter in the Śrī Vāmana Purāṇa. Brahmā said: “Approaching another man’s wife, association with the sinful, and harsh cruelty toward all beings—this is remembered as the first hell (i.e., the first category leading to hell).”

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समाप्त्यर्थक/उद्धरणसूचक

• श्री-वामन-पुराणे: in the Śrī Vāmana Purāṇa
• श्री-वामन-पुराणे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + वामन (प्रातिपदिक) + पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः; अधिकरण

• चतुः-त्रिंशः: thirty-fourth
• चतुः-त्रिंशः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुः (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + त्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः; ‘अध्यायः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• पर-दार-अभिगमनम्: approaching another’s wife (adultery)
• पर-दार-अभिगमनम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिगमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः; विषय/उद्देश्यरूपेण

• पापीयान्: more sinful
• पापीयान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापीयस् (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषणम् (more sinful)

• उपसेवनम्: indulgence / association (in it)
• उपसेवनम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपसेवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पारुष्यम्: harshness / cruelty
• पारुष्यम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्व-भूतानाम्: of all beings
• सर्व-भूतानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः

• प्रथमम्: first
• प्रथमम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नरकम्)

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is declared / is remembered as
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (is considered/remembered)

Speakers

• Brahmā instructing the listener (a Maharṣi) in a dharma-ethical register.

Primary Deities

• Brahmā

Key Themes

• Sexual ethics and social order (paradāra)
• Bad company as a karmic cause (pāpīyān-upasevā)
• Non-violence/compassion toward beings (ahiṃsā implied)
• Karmic consequence framed as naraka

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are these three acts grouped together as leading to the ‘first hell’?

They represent three foundational breaches: violation of household/social trust (adultery), corruption through habitual association (bad company), and direct harm through cruelty. Together they undermine dharma at personal, social, and universal (all beings) levels.

Does “pāpīyāṃsopasevanam” mean committing sins oneself or merely keeping company with sinners?

The compound emphasizes ‘resorting to/associating with the more sinful.’ In dharma literature, sustained association is treated as causative because it normalizes wrongdoing and draws one into shared karmic patterns.

Is “prathamaṃ narakaṃ” naming a specific hell with a proper name?

In this excerpt it functions as an ordinal category (“the first [type leading to] hell”) rather than a named naraka like Tamisra, etc. A fuller passage may later supply specific naraka names and their punishments.