Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 104

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

कपिचापल्यदोषेण तानि मे यान्तु संक्ष्यम् ततो ऋथध्वजः प्राह शापस्यान्तो भविष्यति

Transliteration

kapicāpalyadoṣeṇa tāni me yāntu saṃkṣyam tato ṛthadhvajaḥ prāha śāpasyānto bhaviṣyati

Translation

“Because of the fault of monkey-like fickleness, let those consequences of mine come to an end.” Then Ṛtadhvaja said: “Truly, the end of the curse will come to pass.”

Speakers

• First hemistich: Viśvakarmā/Tvaṣṭṛ (implied continuation) stating the cause and seeking cessation; Second hemistich: Ṛtadhvaja replying/confirming

Primary Deities

• Viśvakarmā (Tvaṣṭṛ)

Key Themes

• Moral causality (doṣa → śāpa)
• Cāpala (impulsiveness) as a dharmic fault
• Assurance of śāpa-anta (curse termination)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is ‘kapi-cāpala’ conveying beyond literal ‘monkey behavior’?

It is a moral-psychological diagnosis: impulsiveness, instability, and lack of restraint. The narrative uses ‘monkey’ both as a literal transformed state and as a metaphor for the underlying fault that triggered the curse.

Who is Ṛtadhvaja and why is his statement decisive?

Ṛtadhvaja appears here as an authoritative figure—often a righteous king or a tapas-endowed person in Purāṇic idiom—whose pronouncement functions as confirmation that the curse has a defined terminus and will be resolved according to dharma.

What does ‘tāni me’ likely refer to?

Grammatically it points to the set of afflictive results tied to the curse—e.g., the monkey-state and its attendant sufferings or restrictions. The verse compresses the narrative, assuming the listener knows the previously described consequences.