Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 11

Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti

Devanagari script

कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैरूर्ध्वमूलैरथोरुभिः विभाति सा सुचार्वङ्गी पद्मकिढ्जल्कसन्निभा

Transliteration

kadalīstambhasadṛśairūrdhvamūlairathorubhiḥ vibhāti sā sucārvaṅgī padmakiḍhjalkasannibhā

Translation

Avec des cuisses pareilles à des troncs de bananier, « enracinées vers le haut » (s’affinant avec grâce), elle resplendit, aux membres exquis, telle la lueur délicate associée aux êtres nés du lotus.

Word by Word

• कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैः: with (thighs) like banana-stems
• कदलीस्तम्भसदृशैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कदली + स्तम्भ + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case, Instrumental), बहुवचन; compound: कदलीस्तम्भस्य सदृशः (like a banana-stem)

• ऊर्ध्वमूलैः: having upward roots (i.e., tapering upward)
• ऊर्ध्वमूलैः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ऊर्ध्वं मूलं येषाम्/येषु (having roots upward)

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; discourse particle (निपात)

• ऊरुभिः: with thighs
• ऊरुभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case, Instrumental), बहुवचन

• विभाति: shines/appears splendid
• विभाति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भा (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case, Nominative), एकवचन

• सुचार्वङ्गी: she of very beautiful limbs
• सुचार्वङ्गी: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + चारु + अङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: सुचारूणि अङ्गानि यस्याः सा

• पद्मकिḍ्जल्कसन्निभा: resembling lotus filaments/pollen
• पद्मकिḍ्जल्कसन्निभा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पद्म + किञ्जल्क + सन्निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पद्मकिञ्जल्कस्य सन्निभा (resembling lotus-filaments/pollen)

Speakers

• Not stated in the provided excerpt (often Pulastya ↔ Nārada in the Purāṇic frame
• but unspecified here)

Primary Deities

• Śrī/Lakṣmī

Key Themes

• Vaishnavism
• Devī iconography
• Alaṅkāra (poetic ornamentation)
• Auspicious beauty (śrī-lakṣaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text frames beauty as a manifestation of auspiciousness (śrī) and harmony; the Goddess’s form becomes a didactic symbol that the cosmos is intelligible through proportion, balance, and auspicious signs.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily stuti/varṇana within an ākhyāna setting; it does not advance sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/Manvantara/vaṃśānucarita directly.

What is the symbolic significance?

Plantain-trunk imagery connotes fertility, abundance, and auspicious household prosperity—key Lakṣmī associations—while the lotus-shimmer evokes purity and spontaneous grace arising from the primordial waters.