Vamana Purana — Vamana's Birth, Shloka 53

Vamana’s Birth during Bali’s Horse-Sacrifice and the Mapping of Vishnu’s Sacred Presences

Devanagari script

समाविष्टानि पश्यस्व तेजांसि पृथिवीतले ये संनिधानाः सततं मदंशाः पुण्यवर्धनाः तेनाहं प्रतिजानामि कुरुक्षेत्रं गतो बलिः

Transliteration

samāviṣṭāni paśyasva tejāṃsi pṛthivītale ye saṃnidhānāḥ satataṃ madaṃśāḥ puṇyavardhanāḥ tenāhaṃ pratijānāmi kurukṣetraṃ gato baliḥ

Translation

{"has_teaching": true, "teaching_type": "jnana", "core_concept": "Saguna–nirguna unity; Brahman as Veda/mantra (śabda) and beyond form.", "teaching_summary": "The praised Lord is invoked as ritual utterance (svāhā) and exclamation, yet declared simultaneously sarvākāra and nirākāra, culminating in identification with the Veda itself.", "vedantic_theme": "Nirguṇa Brahman indicated through language while transcending language; śabda as pointer to the Absolute.", "practical_application": "Use mantra-recitation and VedVamana Purana,62,54,VamP 62.54,bharadvāja uvāca svecchayā tiṣṭha vā gaccha nāhamājñāpayāmi te gamiṣyāmo vayaṃ viṣṇo baleradhvaraṃ mā khida,भरद्वाज उवाच स्वेच्छया तिष्ठ वा गच्छ नाहमाज्ञापयामि ते गमिष्यामो वयं विष्णो बलेरध्वरं मा खिद,Vamana-Bali Narrative,Dialogue / Dharma Teaching (Guru-Disciple; Divine Presence),Adhyaya 62 (Vāmana’s approach to Bali’s sacrifice; inquiry into Viṣṇu’s abiding presences),62.54,bharadvāja uvāca svecchayā tiṣṭha vā gaccha nāhamājñāpayāmi te gamiṣyāmo vayaṃ viṣṇo baleradhvaraṃ mā khida,bharadvāja uvāca svecchayā tiṣṭha vā gaccha nāham ājñāpayāmi te | gamiṣyāmo vayaṃ viṣṇo baler adhvaraṃ mā khida ||,Bharadvāja said: “Stay or go as you wish; I do not command you. We shall proceed

Speakers

• Vāmana speaking to Bharadvāja

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vāmana)
• Bali

Key Themes

• Divine immanence (aṃśa) and sacred potency
• Merit-generation through proximity to holy power
• Geographical verification via auspicious signs
• Linking cosmology to tīrtha-location

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What are the “tejāṃsi” that pervade the earth, and how are they “portions of me”?

The verse presents sacred potency as a distributed divine presence (aṃśa). In Purāṇic cosmology, tīrthas and ritual sites are ‘charged’ by such tejas, making them puṇya-vardhana—capable of increasing merit through contact, ritual, or residence.

How does this verse connect cosmology to geography?

It uses observable/experienced auspicious potency (tejas, saṃnidhāna) as a diagnostic for locating a major ritual event. The sacred landscape is not inert; it is read as a field of divine signs that confirm Bali’s presence at Kurukṣetra.

Why is Bali’s movement to Kurukṣetra important in a Purāṇic geography text?

By anchoring a major mythic-ritual episode (Aśvamedha and the Vāmana encounter) in a named tīrtha-region, the text elevates Kurukṣetra’s status and integrates narrative authority into the map of sacred places.