Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 4

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

तस्य पापरतस्यैवं जग्मुर्वर्षशतानि तु तेनैव कर्मदोषेण नान्यां वृत्तिमरोचयत्

Transliteration

tasya pāparatasyaivaṃ jagmurvarṣaśatāni tu tenaiva karmadoṣeṇa nānyāṃ vṛttimarocayat

Translation

Thus, for him—one devoted to sin—hundreds of years passed; and because of that same defect of karma, he found no liking for any other way of life.

Speakers

• Narrator concluding the mini-unit on karmic fixation and long duration of demonic conduct.

Key Themes

• Habitual sin and moral inertia
• Long duration of karmic fruition (varṣa-śatāni)
• Psychology of adharma (loss of taste for good conduct)
• Karmic reinforcement loops

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the significance of ‘hundreds of years’ in this verse?

Purāṇas often use extended time spans to convey the durability of karmic momentum and the entrenched nature of adharma. It underscores that moral transformation is not automatic; without corrective causes, a being can remain fixed in a degraded vṛtti for very long periods.

How should we understand ‘he did not like any other vṛtti’?

It describes a moral-psychological condition: repeated wrongdoing forms a taste (ruci) for adharma, making dharmic alternatives feel unattractive. The verse attributes this to ‘karma-doṣa’—the residual force of past actions shaping present preferences.

Does this deny the possibility of redemption?

Not necessarily. The verse describes the default trajectory under unopposed karmic conditioning. Elsewhere in Purāṇic literature, contact with saints, tīrthas, vows, or divine grace can interrupt such trajectories; this passage simply emphasizes how strong the inertia of sin can be.