Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 30

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

ततः पपात देवेशः कालिन्दीसरितं मुने निमग्ने शङ्करे आपो दग्धाः कृष्णात्वमागताः

Transliteration

tataḥ papāta deveśaḥ kālindīsaritaṃ mune nimagne śaṅkare āpo dagdhāḥ kṛṣṇātvamāgatāḥ

Translation

Puis le Seigneur des dieux tomba dans la rivière Kālindī, ô sage. Lorsque Śaṅkara y sombra, les eaux furent brûlées et devinrent noires.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then’

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• deveśaḥ: Lord of the gods (Śiva)
• deveśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘lord of the gods’)

• kālindī-saritam: into the river Kālindī (Yamunā)
• kālindī-saritam: Karma (कर्म) (destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālindī + sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (sarit), द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘the river Kālindī’)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• nimagne: when (he) was immersed
• nimagne: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni+majj (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; ‘when (he) had sunk/immersed’

• śaṅkare: in/when Śaṅkara (was)
• śaṅkare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṅkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• āpaḥ: waters
• āpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (pluralia tantum), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• dagdhāḥ: burnt/scorched
• dagdhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; agrees with āpaḥ

• kṛṣṇatvam: blackness
• kṛṣṇatvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa + tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (abstract noun)

• āgatāḥ: became/attained
• āgatāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+gam (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past active/resultative participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having come to/attained’ (with kṛṣṇatvam)

Speakers

• Narrative voice addressing a sage (mune); explicit dialogue participants not named here

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Deveśa/Śaṅkara)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha etiology
• Shaivism
• Mythic explanation for natural feature (dark waters)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The episode frames nature as responsive to divine presence, encouraging reverence for rivers as living sacred realities; it also cautions that intense inner ‘heat’ (tapas/duḥkha) can ‘scorch’ one’s environment unless transmuted into beneficence.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is a tīrtha-māhātmya-type origin account (a narrativized explanation for a geographic trait). In pancalakṣaṇa terms it is ancillary kathā supporting dharma and pilgrimage practice rather than sarga/pratisarga.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Waters becoming black’ symbolizes the absorption of Śiva’s fiery energy and sorrow into the world-stream; the river’s altered color becomes a permanent mnemonic of the divine event, sacralizing the geography.