Vamana Purana — Kali's Complaint to Brahma (Part 2), Shloka 23

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

Devanagari script

सा ब्रह्माणं समायाता चन्द्रं चन्द्रानुगानपि या रक्ता रक्तवसना वाजिस्था रजसान्विता

Transliteration

sā brahmāṇaṃ samāyātā candraṃ candrānugānapi yā raktā raktavasanā vājisthā rajasānvitā

Translation

She approached Brahmā, and (also) the Moon together with those who follow the Moon. That one who is red, wearing red garments, seated upon a horse, is endowed with rajas.

Speakers

• Unspecified narrator voice within Adhyaya 49 to the immediate listener in the frame narrative

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Candra (Moon)
• Guṇa-personified Devī/Śakti (rajas aspect)

Key Themes

• Rajas symbolism (red color, horse, dynamism)
• Cosmic hierarchy (Brahmā, Candra and attendants)
• Guṇas as operative powers influencing deities and worlds

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are the “candrānugāḥ” (followers of the Moon) in a Purāṇic cosmology?

The term can denote the Moon’s retinue—lunar deities and associated celestial functionaries. In a broader cosmological reading it may also gesture toward lunar-linked cycles (months, waxing/waning) and the starry attendants connected with the Moon’s course, though the verse itself keeps it general.

Why is rajas represented by red garments and a horse?

Rajas is the guṇa of motion, desire, and energetic striving. Red (rakta) is a standard emblem of heat and passion, while the horse (vāji) symbolizes speed, drive, and outward-directed activity—apt vehicles for rajasic predominance.

What is implied by the statement that she ‘approached Brahmā and the Moon’?

It portrays the guṇas not as abstract qualities only, but as active cosmic forces that ‘reach’ and condition even high deities and celestial regulators—suggesting that creation (Brahmā) and time/cycles (Candra) operate through guṇa-mediated prakṛti.