Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 27

Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

इत्येवं चिन्तयन्तश्च देवावेतौ हरीश्वरौ कथं योगत्वमापन्नौ सत्त्वान्धतमसोद्भवौ

Transliteration

ityevaṃ cintayantaśca devāvetau harīśvarau kathaṃ yogatvamāpannau sattvāndhatamasodbhavau

Translation

Ainsi, tandis qu’ils méditaient, les dieux s’interrogeaient au sujet de ces deux—Hari et Īśvara—: comment avaient-ils atteint l’état d’union (yoga), bien qu’issus de sources distinctes, sattva et l’obscurité aveuglante (tamas) ?

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरणचिह्न
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक निपात (quotative particle)

• एवम्: in this way
• एवम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• चिन्तयन्तः: thinking
• चिन्तयन्तः: कर्ता (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिन्तयत् (धातु √चिन्त्, वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), प्रथमा, बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; धातु: चिन्त् (to think)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• देवौ: the two gods
• देवौ: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), द्विवचन

• एतौ: these two
• एतौ: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (demonstrative)

• हरि-ईश्वरौ: Hari and Īśvara (Vishnu and Shiva)
• हरि-ईश्वरौ: कर्ता (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (Hari and Īśvara)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Question/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• योगत्वम्: the state of union/yoga-ness
• योगत्वम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• आपन्नौ: having attained
• आपन्नौ: कर्ता (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√पद् (धातु) / आपन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), प्रथमा, द्विवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; धातु: पद् (to go/attain) उपसर्ग: आ-; अर्थ: प्राप्त/प्राप्तौ

• सत्त्व-अन्ध-तमसः-उद्भवौ: born from the darkness blinded by sattva
• सत्त्व-अन्ध-तमसः-उद्भवौ: विशेषण (Qualifier of देवौ/हरि-ईश्वरौ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + तमस् (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘सत्त्वेन अन्धं तमः’ (blind darkness) तस्मात् उद्भवः (arising from) → ‘सत्त्वान्धतमसोद्भव’

Speakers

• Narrator reporting the Devas’ internal deliberation about Hari and Īśvara.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Shaiva–Vaishnava unity
• Guṇa theory (sattva and tamas) applied to deity typology
• Yoga as metaphysical union

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is the verse claiming that Viṣṇu is ‘from sattva’ and Śiva is ‘from tamas’?

It uses a common Purāṇic heuristic that associates deities with guṇas for explanatory purposes. The point is not to reduce the gods to guṇas, but to highlight the wonder of their ‘yoga’—their unity beyond apparent guṇa-differentiation.

What does ‘yogatvam’ mean here—meditative yoga or ontological unity?

Primarily ontological unity: the Devas marvel at how Hari and Īśvara are integrated as one principle (Harīśvara), even when described through contrasting guṇa-origins.

Why is ‘andha-tamas’ (blinding darkness) emphasized?

The compound intensifies tamas as obscuration, sharpening the contrast with sattva (clarity). This rhetorical contrast makes the subsequent revelation of the supreme, all-formed Lord more theologically striking.