Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 28

Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

उवानद्युगलं छत्रं लवणामलकादिकम् आषाढे वामनप्रीत्यै दातव्यानि तु भक्तितः

Transliteration

uvānadyugalaṃ chatraṃ lavaṇāmalakādikam āṣāḍhe vāmanaprītyai dātavyāni tu bhaktitaḥ

Translation

In the month of Āṣāḍha, a pair of footwear, an umbrella, and items such as salt and āmalaka should be given with devotion, for the satisfaction of Vāmana.

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (chapter’s instructional voice).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vāmana)

Key Themes

• Dana (charity) timed by lunar months
• Pilgrim/traveler welfare (footwear, umbrella)
• Bhakti through practical gifts
• Vāmana devotion and avatāra remembrance

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are footwear and umbrella prescribed specifically in Āṣāḍha?

Āṣāḍha marks the onset of monsoon and intense seasonal travel conditions in much of India. Footwear and an umbrella are protective, welfare-oriented gifts; Purāṇic dāna often aligns items with seasonal needs, turning practical relief into devotional merit.

What is the religious logic of giving salt and āmalaka?

Salt represents essential nourishment and preservation; āmalaka is a valued medicinal and auspicious fruit in Indic traditions. Together they signify sustaining life and health—core aims of dharmic charity—offered here as an act of bhakti to Vāmana.

How does this connect to the Vāmana avatāra narrative?

While the verse is not narrative, it ritualizes remembrance of Vāmana by linking a specific month’s charity to his ‘prīti’ (pleasure). Such prescriptions function as lived commemoration of the avatāra through ethical giving.