Vamana Purana — Sin-Destroying Hymn (Part 1), Shloka 4
The Second Sin-Destroying Hymn (Pāpaśamana Stava) and the Syncretic Praise of Hari-Hara
यज्ञध्वज नमस्तुभ्यं धर्मध्वज नमो ऽस्तु ते तालध्वज नमस्ते ऽस्तु नमस्ते गरुहध्वज
yajñadhvaja namastubhyaṃ dharmadhvaja namo 'stu te tāladhvaja namaste 'stu namaste garuhadhvaja
[{"question": "Why are multiple ‘victory’ names (Jayanta, Vijaya, Jaya, Parājita) clustered together?", "answer": "This is a conventional stuti technique: piling synonymous epithets intensifies a single theological point—Vishnu’s unsurpassable sovereignty. The names function as a litany asserting that divine victory is intrinsic (not contingent on circumstance)."}, {"question": "Does ‘Vaikuṇṭha’ here indicate a place (heaven) or a quality of Vishnu?", "answer": "Both senses are active in Purāṇic usage: Vaikuṇṭha is Vishnu’s transcendent abode and also an epithet meaning ‘the one who removes impediments/defects.’ In stuti, the term typically evokes the Lord as the refuge beyond worldly limitation."}, {"question": "Is Ananta meant as Vishnu himself or as Śeṣa?", "answer": "In praise-poetry, Ananta can denote Vishnu’s infinitude directly, while also resonating with Śeṣa-Ananta as his cosmic support. The verse’s grammar allows the epithet to function primarily as a name of the Lord being addressed."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Purāṇas frequently equate Viṣṇu with yajña: He is the recipient, inner essence, and sustaining power of sacrificial order. Calling Him “Yajñadhvaja” makes sacrifice itself His defining ‘standard,’ aligning ritual order with divine sovereignty.
It is a hallmark Vaiṣṇava epithet: Viṣṇu is ‘marked by Garuḍa’ on His banner, signaling His identity as the Lord who rides Garuḍa and whose presence dispels obstacles and affirms protection. It also distinguishes Him iconographically from other deities in multi-deity narratives.
Not always. ‘Palm-bannered’ appears across Sanskrit traditions as a banner-epithet; in this stuti it functions as one among several dhvaja-compounds emphasizing the Lord’s emblematic supremacy. Without additional surrounding verses specifying a particular mythic episode, it is best treated as a poetic honorific rather than a precise narrative identifier.