Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 14

Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti

Devanagari script

माधवो ऽप्युर्वशीं दृष्ट्वा संचिन्तयत नारद किंस्वित् कामनरेन्द्रस्य राजधानी स्वयं स्थिता

Transliteration

mādhavo 'pyurvaśīṃ dṛṣṭvā saṃcintayata nārada kiṃsvit kāmanarendrasya rājadhānī svayaṃ sthitā

Translation

Incluso Mādhava, al ver a Urvāśī, comenzó a reflexionar, oh Nārada: «¿Acaso la capital del rey Kāma ha venido por sí misma a plantarse aquí?»

Word by Word

• माधवः: Mādhava (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• माधवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; particle (निपात) meaning 'also/even'

• उर्वशीम्: Urvāśī
• उर्वशीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उर्वशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund/absolutive)

• संचिन्तयत: thought/pondered
• संचिन्तयत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• नारद: O Nārada
• नारद: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• किंस्वित्: what indeed?
• किंस्वित्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् + स्वित् (अव्यय-समूह)
• Form: अव्यय; interrogative particle meaning 'what indeed/what possibly'

• कामनरेन्द्रस्य: of King Kāma
• कामनरेन्द्रस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम + नरेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: कामः नरेन्द्रः (the king named Kāma / the desire-king)

• राजधानी: capital city
• राजधानी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्वयम्: by itself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning 'by itself/oneself'

• स्थिता: stood/was situated
• स्थिता: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) used predicatively; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with राजधानी

Speakers

• Narrator addressing Nārada (within the broader Pulastya–Nārada discourse)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Mādhava)
• Kāma (personified desire)

Key Themes

• Power of beauty and desire
• Personification of Kāma
• Poetic hyperbole (rājadhānī of Kāma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "hasya", "secondaryRasa": "shringara", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse underscores how sensory splendor can dominate cognition, making the mind interpret beauty as the very ‘realm’ of desire. It cautions that even the divine epithet ‘Mādhava’ is used here to frame the narrative’s didactic point: vigilance over the mind’s projections.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Ancillary narrative (ākhyāna) serving dharma-upadeśa; not primarily cosmological or genealogical, but a moralizing episode within the Purāṇic storytelling frame.

What is the symbolic significance?

Calling Urvāśī the ‘capital of King Kāma’ symbolizes the concentration of tempting objects into a single locus that ‘rules’ the psyche—desire becomes political sovereignty over the inner kingdom.