Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 104

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

गायन्ती याति तच्छ्रुत्वा जातो ऽहं व्यथितेन्द्रियः पृष्ठस्तु समालोक्य विपर्यस्तस्तथोत्प्लुतः

Transliteration

gāyantī yāti tacchrutvā jāto 'haṃ vyathitendriyaḥ pṛṣṭhastu samālokya viparyastastathotplutaḥ

Translation

Hearing that great sound, Bali took up his sword and exclaimed, ‘Ah! What is this?’—thus questioned the foremost of the Asuras.

Speakers

• First-person narrator (identity not explicit in excerpt) describing his reaction; listener not recoverable from these verses alone.

Key Themes

• Auditory omen (song as trigger)
• Fear and sensory disturbance
• Liminal/uncanny atmosphere in a pilgrimage narrative

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shringara", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Who is ‘she’ (gāyantī) in this verse?

The verse grammatically indicates a female subject (‘gāyantī’). In many Purāṇic episodes, such a figure may be a disguised being (yakṣiṇī, piśācī, or other liminal entity) or a narrative device to heighten ominousness. The excerpt alone does not identify her.

What is the narrative function of ‘hearing a song’ causing distress?

Sound—especially unexplained singing in a forest—often marks an inauspicious or supernatural presence. The text uses the protagonist’s sensory disturbance (vyathitendriya) to signal that the situation has crossed from ordinary travel into a perilous, fate-driven encounter.

Does ‘looking behind’ (pṛṣṭhastu samālokya) imply pursuit or betrayal?

It can. In such narratives, the backward glance frequently accompanies realization: the guide may not be trustworthy, or something has changed behind the traveler (companions missing, a threat approaching). The next verse’s sudden fall/death confirms the moment is a turning point.