Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 84

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

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणस्याग्निवेश्यस्य गेहे बहुकलत्रिणः तत्रापि सर्वविज्ञानं प्रत्यभासत् ततो मम

Transliteration

brāhmaṇasyāgniveśyasya gehe bahukalatriṇaḥ tatrāpi sarvavijñānaṃ pratyabhāsat tato mama

Translation

{"scene_description": "A sacred grove near a revered river-tīrtha; brahmin women ceremonially ‘appoint’ or name a humble white donkey as ‘Upavana,’ while a Navarāṣṭrīya woman (elder brother’s wife) is introduced as a key figure.", "primary_figures": ["Brahmin women", "Upavana (white donkey, narrator)", "Navarāṣṭrīya woman (elder brother’s wife)"], "setting": "Riverside tīrtha with grove, ritual vessels, and village-edge domestic backdrop", "color_palette": ["river-blue", "leaf-green", "saffron", "white", "earth-brown"], "tanjore_prompt": "South Indian Tanjore style, gold-leaf accents, a serene Sarasvatī-tīrtha grove with brahmin women performing a naming/installation rite for a white donkey called Upavana; ornate borders, temple jewelry details, luminous river backdrop", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature, soft pastels, delicate figures of brahmin women in a riverside grove naming a white donkey ‘Upavana’; distant hills, gentle river flow, intimate narrative mood", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural style, bold outlines and natural pigments, Sarasvatī-tīrtha grove with ritual pots and lamps; brahmin women gesturing in reverence toward a white donkey; stylized foliage and river bands", "pattachitra_prompt": "Odisha pattachitra scroll aesthetic, flat narrative panels: brahmin women confer the name Upavana on a white donkey near a sacred river; decorative floral borders, clear storytelling composition"}

Word by Word

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Speakers

• First-person speaker continuing the karmic autobiography within the chapter’s dialogue frame (not provided).

Key Themes

• Jāti-smara (memory/knowledge across births)
• Residual karmic impressions (saṃskāra)
• Householder complexity (polygyny)
• Moral narrative leading toward purification

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does it mean that ‘all knowledge became manifest again’?

It indicates a puranic motif of retained impressions (saṃskāras) ripening into recollection or aptitude in a later birth—sometimes framed as jāti-smara (birth-memory) or spontaneous reawakening of learning.

Is ‘Āgniveśya’ a person or a lineage marker?

It can function as a personal name and also as a gotra/pravara-style designation. In narrative usage, it anchors the rebirth in a recognizable Brahmin identity without requiring further geography.

Why mention that the Brahmin had many wives?

The detail situates the household’s social texture and may foreshadow ethical complications or narrative causality. Puranic stories often include such markers to explain later conflicts, inheritance issues, or moral contrasts.