Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 29

Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

सार्द्धं त्रिनेत्रं कमलाहिकुण्डलं जटागुडाकेशखगर्षभध्वजम् समाधवं हारभुजङ्गवक्षसं पीताजिनाच्छन्नकटिप्रदेशम्

Transliteration

sārddhaṃ trinetraṃ kamalāhikuṇḍalaṃ jaṭāguḍākeśakhagarṣabhadhvajam samādhavaṃ hārabhujaṅgavakṣasaṃ pītājinācchannakaṭipradeśam

Translation

He beheld that supreme form as a single, united reality: three‑eyed; wearing lotus and serpent as ear‑ornaments; with matted locks and a yellow garment; its banner marked with the emblems of Garuḍa and the bull; possessing Mādhava (Viṣṇu) together with Śiva’s deep meditative poise; with a serpent as a chest‑ornament/garland; and with the waist-region covered by a yellow hide or cloth.

Word by Word

• सार्द्धम्: together/along with
• सार्द्धम्: सह (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्द्धम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, सहार्थक (adverb/preposition-like: ‘together/with’)

• त्रि-नेत्रम्: three-eyed
• त्रि-नेत्रम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः ‘त्रीणि नेत्राणि यस्य’ (as epithet)

• कमला-अहि-कुण्डलम्: having serpent-earrings (lotus-like/beautiful)
• कमला-अहि-कुण्डलम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कमला (प्रातिपदिक) + अहि (प्रातिपदिक) + कुण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘कमलायाः (सदृशः) अहिः’ इव कुण्डलम् / ‘अहिकुण्डल’ (serpent-earring) with qualifier ‘कमला-’

• जटा-गुडाकेश-खग-ऋषभ-ध्वजम्: whose emblem/banner bears (matted hair, Gudākeśa, bird, bull)
• जटा-गुडाकेश-खग-ऋषभ-ध्वजम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटा (प्रातिपदिक) + गुडाकेश (प्रातिपदिक) + खग (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक) + ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘जटा… (आदि-चिह्नैः) ध्वजः यस्य’ (banner/insignia with these emblems)

• समाधवम्: samādhava (in samādhi/meditative)
• समाधवम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (epithet; uncertain derivation—likely ‘with/possessing samādhi’ or ‘samādhava’ as name)

• हार-भुजङ्ग-वक्षसम्: with necklace and serpent on the chest
• हार-भुजङ्ग-वक्षसम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हार (प्रातिपदिक) + भुजङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + वक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘हारः (च) भुजङ्गः (च) वक्षसि यस्य’ (necklace and serpent on chest)

• पीत-अजिन-आच्छन्न-कटि-प्रदेशम्: whose waist-region is covered with a yellow hide
• पीत-अजिन-आच्छन्न-कटि-प्रदेशम्: कर्म (Object; epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीत (प्रातिपदिक) + अजिन (प्रातिपदिक) + आच्छन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; आ-√छद्) + कटि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘पीतेन अजिनेन आच्छन्नः कटिप्रदेशः यस्य’

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing the vision to the listening sage(s) (context continues into the devas’ response in the next verse).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Mādhava/Hari)
• Śiva (Śaṅkara/Trinetra)
• Lakṣmī (implied by kamalā)
• Garuḍa (emblem)
• Nandin/Ṛṣabha (emblem)

Key Themes

• Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava unity (Harihara)
• Theophany (darśana of a composite deity)
• Iconography and emblem symbolism
• Non-duality of divine functions

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Garuḍa and the bull both placed on the banner in a single description?

The verse deliberately fuses the principal emblems of Viṣṇu (Garuḍa) and Śiva (Ṛṣabha/Nandin) to signal a Harihara theophany—one sovereignty expressed through two sectarian iconographies. The banner becomes a ‘metadata’ marker of theological synthesis.

Does ‘kamalāhikuṇḍala’ mean two different earrings or a single composite ornament?

It can be read as a dual ornamentation: one ear adorned with a lotus (kamalā) and the other with a serpent (ahi), a common Purāṇic strategy to show bilateral fusion of Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva traits. It may also be taken as a compound indicating ‘lotus-and-serpent earrings’ collectively.

What is the doctrinal point of describing both samādhi and Mādhava together?

The text pairs Śiva’s yogic stillness (samādhi) with Viṣṇu’s sustaining lordship (Mādhava) to assert that ascetic transcendence and cosmic preservation are not competing ultimates but complementary expressions of the same supreme reality.