Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 11

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

षडङ्गनिधनं घोरं षाङ्गुण्यप्रतिषेधनम् एकादशममेवोक्तं नरकं सद्भिरुत्तमम्

Transliteration

ṣaḍaṅganidhanaṃ ghoraṃ ṣāṅguṇyapratiṣedhanam ekādaśamamevoktaṃ narakaṃ sadbhiruttamam

Translation

Le onzième enfer, que les hommes de bien déclarent « éminent » par sa rigueur, est destiné à la terrible destruction des six aṅgas (ṣaḍaṅga) et au rejet ou à l’entrave du « ṣāṅguṇya » (les six qualités justes ou la discipline vertueuse en six volets).

Word by Word

• ṣaṭ-aṅga-nidhanam: destruction of the six limbs/parts
• ṣaṭ-aṅga-nidhanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या; प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + nidhana (प्रातिपदिक; √dhā/√han? here ‘destruction/end’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—द्विगु (षडङ्गानां निधानम्/निधनम् = destruction of six limbs/parts)

• ghoram: terrible
• ghoram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ṣāṅguṇya-pratiṣedhanam: prohibition/obstruction of the sixfold virtues
• ṣāṅguṇya-pratiṣedhanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣāṅguṇya (प्रातिपदिक; ‘sixfold qualities’) + pratiṣedhana (प्रातिपदिक; prati+√sidh/√ṣidh? ‘to prevent/forbid’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (षाङ्गुण्यस्य प्रतिषेधनम्)

• ekādaśamam: eleventh
• ekādaśamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम्

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपातः

• uktam: is said
• uktam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ukta (कृदन्त; √vac वदति), कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘is said’

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sadbhiḥ: by the good (people)
• sadbhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण) / Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (by the good/wise)

• uttamam: supreme, most intense
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (narakam qualifies)

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (didactic enumeration within Adhyāya 35)

Primary Deities

• Yama (implied)

Key Themes

• Protection of Vedic auxiliaries (Vedāṅga) and learning systems
• Completeness and integrity of dharmic discipline
• Consequences of sabotaging religious education
• Hierarchy of narakas by severity

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does ‘ṣaḍaṅga’ here mean the six Vedāṅgas?

That is the most natural Purāṇic-dharmic reading: ‘six limbs’ as the Vedāṅgas that preserve correct recitation, ritual procedure, grammar, etymology, meter, and calendrical astronomy. ‘Destroying the ṣaḍaṅga’ then means undermining the infrastructure of Vedic learning—through suppression, corruption, or deliberate mis-teaching.

What is ‘ṣāṅguṇya’ and why is rejecting it condemned?

Ṣāṅguṇya literally indicates ‘sixfold goodness/completeness.’ In dharma contexts it can denote a recognized sixfold set of virtues or the proper completeness of a rite/discipline. ‘Pratiṣedhana’ implies obstructing or denying that normative framework—thus producing defective practice and social-religious confusion.

Why call the eleventh naraka ‘uttama’ (foremost)?

Here ‘uttama’ is best read as ‘most notable/most severe’ because the targeted sins attack the roots of dharma itself: the educational and disciplinary structures that enable correct knowledge and practice. When those are ruined, many other transgressions proliferate—hence the text marks this naraka as especially grave.