Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 16

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

Devanagari script

आलस्यं वै षोडशममाक्रोशं च विशेषतः सर्वस्य चाततायित्वलमावासेष्वग्निदीपनम्

Transliteration

ālasyaṃ vai ṣoḍaśamamākrośaṃ ca viśeṣataḥ sarvasya cātatāyitvalamāvāseṣvagnidīpanam

Translation

La paresse est bien la seizième (faute), et tout particulièrement les cris d’injures et d’outrages. Il y a aussi le fait d’agir en ātatāyin envers tous (agresseur violent), et d’allumer le feu dans les demeures des estropiés ou des sans‑défense (c’est‑à‑dire l’incendie contre les vulnérables).

Word by Word

• आलस्यम्: laziness
• आलस्यम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आलस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; nominative/accusative singular

• वै: indeed
• वै: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• षोडशमम्: sixteenth
• षोडशमम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडशम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; ordinal adjective

• आक्रोशम्: abuse/crying out
• आक्रोशम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आक्रोश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; nominative/accusative singular

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘especially’

• सर्वस्य: of everyone/of all
• सर्वस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचनम्; genitive singular

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• आततायित्वम्: being an aggressor (ātātāyin)
• आततायित्वम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आततायिन् + त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; भाववाचक ‘-त्व’ (state of being an aggressor)

• आवासेषु: in dwellings/houses
• आवासेषु: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचनम्; locative plural

• अग्निदीपनम्: kindling fire
• अग्निदीपनम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि + दीपन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; ‘kindling of fire’

Speakers

• Not specified in the excerpt (didactic narration within Adhyāya 35).

Key Themes

• Condemnation of sloth (ālasya)
• Non-violence and social protection
• Verbal harm (ākrośa) as sin
• Protection of the vulnerable
• Ātatāyin as a dharmic category of grievous offender

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘sloth’ listed among serious moral faults?

Purāṇic ethics treats ālasya as a root-obstacle to dharma: it prevents study, worship, charity, livelihood, and self-discipline. Because it indirectly enables many other wrongs, it is catalogued alongside overt harms.

What is an ‘ātatāyin’ and why is it singled out?

Ātatāyin is a technical dharma term for a grievous aggressor (e.g., arsonist, poisoner, armed attacker). Such acts threaten communal safety; hence the text marks them as especially condemnable and karmically weighty.

What is the significance of mentioning arson against the ‘lame/helpless’?

It intensifies the moral gravity by highlighting exploitation of those least able to defend themselves. Purāṇic dharma repeatedly frames sin not only as violence, but as violence compounded by targeting the vulnerable.