Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 70

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

वरदो ऽसि यदीशान तद्यातु विलयं मम शारीरं मानसं वाग्जं दुष्कृतं दुर्विचिन्तितम्

Transliteration

varado 'si yadīśāna tadyātu vilayaṃ mama śārīraṃ mānasaṃ vāgjaṃ duṣkṛtaṃ durvicintitam

Translation

“If you are indeed the giver of boons, O Īśāna, then let my evil deed—whether bodily, mental, or born of speech—together with my wicked, ill-conceived intent, go to destruction.”

Speakers

• Andhaka addressing Īśāna/Śiva

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Threefold karma (body-speech-mind)
• Sin and purification
• Boon as moral reset
• Tension between confession and latent desire

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the doctrinal significance of ‘bodily, mental, and speech-born’ wrongdoing?

It reflects the classical triad of karma-channels (kāya-vāk-manas): ethical accountability spans action, speech, and thought. The verse frames Andhaka’s request as comprehensive purification, not merely external absolution.

Is Andhaka genuinely repentant here, or is it strategic?

Within Purāṇic storytelling, such language can be both: a formal confession to qualify for a boon and a narrative device that heightens irony—despite requesting the destruction of ‘durvicintita,’ Andhaka’s later fixation on Ambikā manifests precisely as perverse intention.

Does this verse contribute to the Vāmana Purāṇa’s sacred geography?

No. It is ethical-theological and contains no explicit toponyms or tirtha references.