Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

भकारं नेत्रयुगलं तत्र कर्कटकः स्थितः मासः श्रावण इत्युक्तश्चतुर्थं पत्रकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

bhakāraṃ netrayugalaṃ tatra karkaṭakaḥ sthitaḥ māsaḥ śrāvaṇa ityuktaścaturthaṃ patrakaṃ smṛtam

Translation

On dit que la syllabe « bha » correspond à la paire d’yeux ; là se tient le signe zodiacal du Cancer (Karkaṭaka). Le mois est proclamé Śrāvaṇa, et cela est retenu comme le quatrième « patraka » (feuillet/segment).

Word by Word

• भकारम्: the letter ‘bha’
• भकारम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; ‘भ’ इति वर्णः (letter-name)

• नेत्र-युगलम्: pair of eyes
• नेत्र-युगलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + युगल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नेत्रयोः युगलम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• कर्कटकः: Cancer (the crab sign)
• कर्कटकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्कटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• स्थितः: is situated
• स्थितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः; ‘स्थितः’ = standing/placed

• मासः: month
• मासः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• श्रावणः: Śrāvaṇa
• श्रावणः: Viśeṣya-nāma (विशेष्य-नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रावण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मास-नाम

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक (quotative particle)

• उक्तः: is called
• उक्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) → उक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे; ‘called/said’

• चतुर्थम्: fourth
• चतुर्थम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण (ordinal)

• पत्रकम्: petal/leaflet
• पत्रकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः—‘is remembered/considered’

Speakers

• Not specified in the given excerpt (continuation of the chapter’s narrator-to-listener discourse).

Key Themes

• Syllable–body correspondence (varṇa-nyāsa style mapping)
• Jyotiṣa: rāśi (zodiac sign) and māsa (month) correlation
• Ritual/cosmological diagram segments (patraka)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of linking a syllable (bha) to a body-part (eyes) and to Cancer/Śrāvaṇa?

This is a cosmological-ritual mapping: phonemes (varṇas), the human body (a microcosm), and time/sky (rāśi and māsa) are aligned to sacralize recitation and contemplation. Such correspondences often support nyāsa-like practices and meditative visualization.

What does “patraka” mean here?

Patraka literally means a ‘leaf’ or ‘petal’. In this chapter it functions as a numbered segment in a structured sequence—like a petal in a lotus-diagram or a section in a mapped schema of syllables, body-parts, and calendrical markers.

Is any tīrtha or geographic site being described in this verse?

No. Despite the Vāmana Purāṇa’s strong geographic orientation, this particular verse is purely schematic (phoneme–body–zodiac–month) and contains no explicit sacred geography terms.