Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 53

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

व्रीहिप्रदीपिककरा मनावारूढा च कन्यका चरते स्त्रीरतिस्थाने वसते नड्वलेषु च

Transliteration

vrīhipradīpikakarā manāvārūḍhā ca kanyakā carate strīratisthāne vasate naḍvaleṣu ca

Translation

Une jeune fille—tenant en main une lampe de riz et montée sur (ce qu’on appelle) manā—se déplace ; elle demeure dans les lieux des jeux érotiques des femmes, et aussi dans les roselières (lits de roseaux).

Word by Word

• व्रीहि: rice
• व्रीहि: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रीहि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• प्रदीपिका: lamp/torch
• प्रदीपिका: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदीपिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• करा: having (rice and lamp) in hand
• करा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (व्रीहि-प्रदीपिका-करा = whose hand holds rice and a lamp / having such hands)

• मनौ: on/at Manu (name/place)
• मनौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (locative)

• आरूढा: mounted/ascended
• आरूढा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + रुह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (mounted/ascended)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• कन्यका: maiden/girl
• कन्यका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• चरते: moves/wanders
• चरते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• स्त्री: woman
• स्त्री: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• रति: love/pleasure
• रति: Samasa-anga (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-समासाङ्ग

• स्थाने: in the place of women's pleasure
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्त्री-रतेः स्थानम्)

• वसते: dwells
• वसते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नड्वलेषु: in reed-thickets/marshy reed-beds
• नड्वलेषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नड्वल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical narrative frame; not explicit in provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Folk/Local Motifs in Kshetra Description
• Liminal Spaces (reed-beds, hidden places)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

In tīrtha sections, such motifs often function as cautionary or identificatory markers: certain zones are characterized by secrecy and sensuality (rati-sthāna, reed-beds), reminding practitioners to maintain discernment and self-restraint while navigating the landscape.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best treated as kṣetra-varṇana / tīrtha-māhātmya descriptive material rather than one of the five lakṣaṇas; it resembles local legend-encoding within pilgrimage geography.

What is the symbolic significance?

A lamp (pradīpikā) in erotic/hidden locales can symbolize the tension between illumination (awareness) and concealment (reed-beds, secret trysts), a common purāṇic way of marking morally ambiguous or liminal spaces within a sacred region.