Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 9

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

पादप्रहारैरमरा त्रिशुलेनापरे मुने दृष्ट्यग्निना तथैवान्ये देवाद्याः प्रलयीकृताः

Transliteration

pādaprahārairamarā triśulenāpare mune dṛṣṭyagninā tathaivānye devādyāḥ pralayīkṛtāḥ

Translation

By blows of his feet some gods were struck down; others, O sage, by the trident; and still others—gods and the like—were reduced to dissolution by the fire of his glance.

Word by Word

• pāda-prahāraiḥ: with blows of the foot
• pāda-prahāraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + prahāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (pl); तत्पुरुषः—‘पादेन प्रहाराः’

• amarāḥ: the gods
• amarāḥ: Karma (कर्म) (patients in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom/1st), बहुवचन (pl)

• triśulena: with the trident
• triśulena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: triśūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (sg)

• apare: others
• apare: Karma (कर्म) (patients in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom/1st), बहुवचन (pl)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (sg)

• dṛṣṭi-agni-nā: by the fire of (his) glance
• dṛṣṭi-agni-nā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (sg); तत्पुरुषः—‘दृष्टेः अग्निः’ / ‘दृष्ट्या (उत्पन्नः) अग्निः’ (fire of the glance)

• tathā: thus, in that way
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (manner adverb)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• anye: others
• anye: Karma (कर्म) (patients in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom/1st), बहुवचन (pl)

• deva-ādyāḥ: the gods and others
• deva-ādyāḥ: Karma (कर्म) (patients in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom/1st), बहुवचन (pl); ‘देव-आदि’ = ‘gods and the rest’

• pralayī-kṛtāḥ: were destroyed, reduced to dissolution
• pralayī-kṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया) (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + layī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) from ‘प्रलयीकृ’ (denominative/causative sense), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (Nom/1st), बहुवचन (pl); कर्मणि प्रयोग

Speakers

• Narratorial layer not specified in input (often Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa)

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Rudra/Śaṅkara)
• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Pralaya imagery
• Divine weapons (triśūla)
• Cosmic hierarchy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse teaches that cosmic order includes dissolution as well as preservation. Even divine beings are subject to higher law; alignment with dharma, not status, is what protects.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It resonates with pralaya motifs (one of the Purāṇic cosmological concerns), but here used within a narrative episode (carita) to depict Rudra’s destructive capacity rather than a full cosmology of sarga/pratisarga.

What is the symbolic significance?

Feet, trident, and fiery gaze represent escalating registers of power: physical dominance, weaponized authority, and sheer will/tejas. The ‘fire of sight’ especially signifies consciousness as an annihilative force—Rudra’s glance dissolves forms without contact.