Vamana Purana — Kali's Complaint to Brahma (Part 1), Shloka 8

Kali’s Complaint to Brahma and the Arrival of Śrī (Jayaśrī) in Bali’s Court

Devanagari script

विद्युज्जिह्वः प्ररिभद्रो वृषपर्वा शतेक्षणः विपाको विक्षरः सैन्यं ते ऽपि देवानुपाद्रवन्

Transliteration

vidyujjihvaḥ praribhadro vṛṣaparvā śatekṣaṇaḥ vipāko vikṣaraḥ sainyaṃ te 'pi devānupādravan

Translation

Vidyujjihva, Praribhadra, Vṛṣaparvā, Śatekṣaṇa, Vipāka, and Vikṣara—along with their forces—also attacked the gods.

Speakers

• Narrator listing asura combatants within the battle account.

Primary Deities

• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Cataloguing of asura allies
• Collective assault on devas
• Battle momentum

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why do Purāṇas list many named asuras in quick succession?

Such catalogues function like battlefield ‘roll-calls’: they expand the scale of conflict, anchor the narrative in a remembered mythic roster, and signal that the devas face not a single foe but a coalition of formidable powers.

Does ‘Śatekṣaṇa’ here refer to Indra?

In this verse it is presented among asura names, so it should be read as an asura bearing an epithet meaning ‘hundred-eyed.’ Purāṇic literature often reuses descriptive epithets across different beings; context (the surrounding list) governs identification.

What is the narrative effect of adding ‘sainyaṃ’ (their army) explicitly?

It emphasizes that these are not lone champions but commanders with troops, intensifying the sense of a full-scale engagement and justifying subsequent divine countermeasures in the Andhaka-cycle battle.