Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 13

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

Devanagari script

इति संचिन्तयन् कामस्तामनिन्दितलोचनाम् कामातुरो ऽसौ संजातः किमुतान्यो जनो मुने

Transliteration

iti saṃcintayan kāmastāmaninditalocanām kāmāturo 'sau saṃjātaḥ kimutānyo jano mune

Translation

Ainsi, tandis que Kāma ne cessait de la méditer—elle aux yeux irréprochables—il fut tourmenté par le désir. Que dire alors de tout autre homme, ô sage !

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; quotative/particle (इत्यर्थे)

• संचिन्तयन्: thinking/pondering
• संचिन्तयन्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √चिन्त् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कामः: Kāma (the god of love)/desire
• कामः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अनिन्दितलोचनाम्: having faultless eyes
• अनिन्दितलोचनाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + निन्दित + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: अनिन्दिते लोचने यस्याः सा (she whose eyes are blameless)

• कामातुरः: love-stricken
• कामातुरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम + आतुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: कामेन आतुरः (afflicted by desire)

• असौ: that one/he
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• संजातः: became/arose
• संजातः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) used predicatively; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• किमुत: how much more
• किमुत: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् + उत (अव्यय-समूह)
• Form: अव्यय; interrogative-exclamatory particle meaning 'how much more'

• अन्यः: another (person)
• अन्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जनः: person
• जनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator within the Pulastya–Nārada dialogue framework (exact speaker not explicit in the verse excerpt)

Key Themes

• Ethics of sense-control
• Mind and desire (kāma)
• Didactic comparison (exemplary case → general case)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Repeated mental fixation (saṃcintana) intensifies kāma into distress (āturatā). The verse teaches that inner discipline begins at the level of thought; even a comparatively elevated person can be shaken—therefore ordinary people must be more vigilant.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Vamśānucarita / narrative-didactic episode (ākhyāna) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It functions as moral instruction embedded in story.

What is the symbolic significance?

Urvāśī symbolizes irresistible sensory allure; ‘thinking again and again’ symbolizes the mind’s ruminative loop that converts perception into bondage. The rhetorical ‘kim uta’ universalizes the warning.