Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 70

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

Devanagari script

आपज्जलनिमग्नानां ह्रियतां व्यसनोर्मिभिः वृद्धवाक्यैर्विना नूनं नैवोत्तारं कथञ्चन

Transliteration

āpajjalanimagnānāṃ hriyatāṃ vyasanormibhiḥ vṛddhavākyairvinā nūnaṃ naivottāraṃ kathañcana

Translation

Those who have sunk into the waters of calamity and are being carried away by the waves of misfortune—without the words of elders, surely they find no crossing out, in any way.

Speakers

• Not specified in input (didactic voice within the narrative frame of Adhyāya 68).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāmana/Trivikrama—contextual)

Key Themes

• Metaphor of saṃsāra/duḥkha as water
• Elders’ counsel as salvific means
• Practical dharma in adversity
• Listening (śravaṇa) as a dharmic act

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is meant by ‘uttāra’ here—spiritual liberation or practical rescue?

Primarily practical deliverance from a crisis (crossing out of danger), expressed through the common ‘river/ocean’ metaphor. In Purāṇic usage, such language can also echo spiritual ‘crossing’ (saṃsāra-taraṇa), but the immediate teaching is ethical: heed wise counsel to survive adversity.

Why are elders’ words treated as indispensable?

Vṛddha-vākya stands for tested discernment (viveka) and tradition-backed guidance. The verse frames counsel as the ‘boat’ or ‘ford’ (uttāra) when one’s own agency is weakened by being ‘swept away’ (hriyatām) by vyasana-ūrmīs.

Is this teaching sectarian (Vaiṣṇava/Śaiva), or general nīti?

It is general nīti embedded in a Purāṇic setting. The next verse explicitly links the principle to Bali (a key figure in the Vāmana cycle), showing how universal dharma is illustrated through mythic exemplars.