Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 62

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

Devanagari script

सुकारं जघनं प्रोक्तं तत्रस्थश्च धनुर्धरः पौषति गदितो मासो नवमं परिकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

sukāraṃ jaghanaṃ proktaṃ tatrasthaśca dhanurdharaḥ pauṣati gadito māso navamaṃ parikīrtitam

Translation

La syllabe « su » est déclarée être le « jaghana » (les hanches/les reins). Là se tient l’Archer (Dhanurdhara, c’est-à-dire le Sagittaire). Le mois est dit être Pauṣa ; il est proclamé comme le neuvième patraka (division).

Word by Word

• सुकारम्: the syllable/letter ‘su’
• सुकारम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकार (प्रातिपदिक; सु + कार)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular neuter

• जघनम्: buttocks/hip-region
• जघनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जघन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; accusative singular neuter

• प्रोक्तम्: declared/said
• प्रोक्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘said/declared’ agreeing with neuter object

• तत्रस्थः: situated there
• तत्रस्थः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत्र + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; तत्र + स्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• धनुर्धरः: bow-bearer/archer
• धनुर्धरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् + धर (प्रातिपदिक; धनुर्धर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• पौषति: (month) of Pauṣa
• पौषति: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पौष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; used adjectivally ‘of Pauṣa’ qualifying ‘māsaḥ’ (month)

• गदितः: is stated/mentioned
• गदितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गद् (धातु) → गदित (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agreeing with ‘māsaḥ’

• मासः: month
• मासः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• नवमम्: ninth
• नवमम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ordinal ‘ninth’ (agreeing with implied ‘patrakam/patram’ or neuter referent)

• परिकीर्तितम्: proclaimed/celebrated
• परिकीर्तितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + कीर्त् (धातु) → परिकीर्तित (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘has been proclaimed’

Speakers

• Narratorial/teacher voice in cosmological enumeration (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt).

Primary Deities

• None explicitly named in this verse

Key Themes

• Body–cosmos correspondence (jaghana)
• Zodiac–month mapping
• Symbolic identification of Dhanu (Sagittarius) as ‘bow-bearer’

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is ‘Dhanurdhara’ here—an actual deity or the zodiac sign?

In this enumerative context, ‘Dhanurdhara’ functions as a descriptive label for the zodiac sign Sagittarius (Dhanu), represented iconographically as an archer/bow-bearer, rather than a specific named deity.

What is the significance of mapping ‘su-kāra’ to ‘jaghana’?

It is part of a symbolic microcosm–macrocosm scheme: syllables (varṇa), bodily regions (aṅga), and astral divisions (rāśi/māsa) are aligned to create a sacralized, memorizable cosmological grid.

Does this passage contain any tīrtha or geographic data typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not in these three verses. They are purely astral-symbolic; no rivers, forests, lakes, or pilgrimage sites are named in the provided excerpt.