Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 99

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

Devanagari script

नाहस्थानं शुभाकारं यदासीद्वज्रभूषितम् तज्जातं केसरारण्यं बकुलं नामतो मुने

Transliteration

nāhasthānaṃ śubhākāraṃ yadāsīdvajrabhūṣitam tajjātaṃ kesarāraṇyaṃ bakulaṃ nāmato mune

Translation

Ô sage, la région de forme propice qui se trouvait à l’endroit du nez, ornée d’un éclat semblable au vajra, devint la forêt de Keśara, connue sous le nom de Bakula.

Word by Word

• नाहस्थानम्: the place at the navel
• नाहस्थानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाह + स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नाहस्य स्थानम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• शुभाकारम्: of auspicious form
• शुभाकारम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ + आकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (शुभः आकारः यस्य/शुभाकारम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नाहस्थानम्)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• आसीत्: was
• आसीत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार, परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वज्रभूषितम्: adorned with vajra (diamond/thunderbolt)
• वज्रभूषितम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वज्र + भूषित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (वज्रेण भूषितम्); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• तत्: that (same)
• तत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• जातम्: became
• जातम्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (predicative); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• केसरारण्यं: a forest of kesara trees
• केसरारण्यं: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केसर + अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (केसराणाम् अरण्यम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• बकुलम्: Bakula (name)
• बकुलम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (केसरारण्यस्य नाम)

• नामतः: by name
• नामतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/निमित्तवाचक अव्यय (by name/as to name)

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical framing for this section; not explicitly stated in the provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tīrtha Māhātmya
• Mythic Etiology (place-name origins)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The landscape is presented as sanctified and meaningful, not merely physical: sacred places originate from divine/numinous sources, encouraging reverence and mindful conduct in tīrthas.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily within Vamśānucarita / narrative description of holy places and their origins (tīrtha-māhātmya material), rather than sarga/pratisarga cosmogenesis.

What is the symbolic significance?

Linking a forest to a divine body-location (the nose) sacralizes geography through embodied symbolism; ‘vajra-adornment’ suggests indestructible purity/effulgence marking the site’s potency.