Vamana Purana — Indra's Campaign on Mount Malaya, Shloka 14

Indra’s Campaign on Mount Malaya and the Birth of the Maruts (Origin of the Epithet Gotrabhid)

Devanagari script

तत्र नाम विभुर्लोभे शासनत्वात् शरैर्दृढैः पाकशासनतां शक्रः सर्वामरपतिर्विभुः

Transliteration

tatra nāma vibhurlobhe śāsanatvāt śarairdṛḍhaiḥ pākaśāsanatāṃ śakraḥ sarvāmarapatirvibhuḥ

Translation

{"location": null, "location_type": null, "region": null, "sacred_significance": "Mythic battlefield; reference to Bāṇāsura’s lineage evokes wider puranic geography (Śoṇitapura) though not named here.", "cosmic_realm": "bhuloka"}

Speakers

• Narrator explaining an epithet within the ongoing battle narration

Primary Deities

• Indra (Śakra)

Key Themes

• Name-etymology (nirukti) of divine epithets
• Indra’s kingship over the devas
• Moral coloring of the foe (lobha/greed)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of this verse within the battle narrative?

It pauses the action to provide nirukti—an explanatory etymology—linking a well-known epithet of Indra (‘Pākaśāsana’) to a specific punitive act against a named adversary, Pāka.

Does ‘lobhe’ describe Indra or Pāka?

Grammatically and contextually it characterizes the adversarial figure (Pāka) as associated with greed, reinforcing the moral contrast: the deva’s ‘discipline’ subdues a greed-driven opponent.

Why do Purāṇas include such etymological explanations?

They serve mnemonic and theological purposes: epithets become anchored in narrative deeds, making divine names meaningful as summaries of cosmic functions (here, Indra as the punisher/subduer of disruptive forces).