Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 7

Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology

Devanagari script

स्थानं त्रैलोक्यमास्थाय मूलाहारो ऽम्बुभोजनः वाय्वाहारस्तदा तस्थौ नववरिषशतं क्रमात्

Transliteration

sthānaṃ trailokyamāsthāya mūlāhāro 'mbubhojanaḥ vāyvāhārastadā tasthau navavariṣaśataṃ kramāt

Translation

Having taken his station as though encompassing the three worlds, he subsisted on roots, then on water, then on air; thus, in due course, he remained in austerity for nine hundred years.

Word by Word

• sthānam: a place
• sthānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• trailokyam: pertaining to the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—त्रयः लोकाः यस्य (त्रैलोक्य)

• āsthāya: having taken/occupied
• āsthāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = ‘आस्थाय’ (having resorted to/occupied)

• mūla-āhāraḥ: one whose food is roots
• mūla-āhāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—मूलम् आहारः यस्य

• ambu-bhojanaḥ: one who consumes only water
• ambu-bhojanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ambu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—अम्बु भोजनं यस्य

• vāyu-āhāraḥ: one who lives on air
• vāyu-āhāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—वायुः आहारः यस्य

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (काल/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• tasthau: stood / remained
• tasthau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• nava-variṣa-śatam: nine hundred years
• nava-variṣa-śatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + variṣa/varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु—नव-शतं वर्षाणाम् (900 years)

• kramāt: gradually / in sequence
• kramāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) = ‘क्रमात्’ (in due order/gradually)

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purāṇic dialogue context (chapter-level frame not provided in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Extreme tapas
• Progressive fasting vows (mūla→ambu→vāyu)
• Cosmic scale of ascetic power
• Time-span and merit accumulation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How should ‘sthānaṃ trailokyamāsthāya’ be understood—literal or hyperbolic?

It is best read as Purāṇic hyperbole indicating the ascetic’s tapas becomes ‘world-filling’ in potency—his presence and vow acquire cosmic consequence, not that he physically occupies all realms.

What is the significance of the dietary sequence roots → water → air?

It encodes graded renunciation: from minimal solid food (roots) to liquid-only (water) to prāṇa-based subsistence (air). This is a standard Purāṇic way to signal intensification of tapas and mastery over bodily needs.

Does the ‘nine hundred years’ figure have a doctrinal function?

Yes. Such long durations mark tapas as supra-human and legitimizing—establishing the yati’s authority and the inevitability of divine response in later narrative developments.