Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 94

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

Devanagari script

यत् तिष्ठता यद् व्रजता यच्च शय्यागतेन मे कृतं यदशुभं कर्म कायेन मनसा गिरा

Transliteration

yat tiṣṭhatā yad vrajatā yacca śayyāgatena me kṛtaṃ yadaśubhaṃ karma kāyena manasā girā

Translation

whatever inauspicious act has been done by me—whether while standing, while walking, or while lying down—by body, by mind, or by speech,

Speakers

• (Contextual) A first-person expiatory statement embedded in the chapter’s devotional/prāyaścitta teaching (traditional frame often: Pulastya to Nārada).

Primary Deities

• Vāsudeva (Viṣṇu)

Key Themes

• Continuous moral accountability
• Threefold agency (body–mind–speech)
• Confessional devotion
• Purification through remembrance

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why mention postures/activities (standing, walking, lying down)?

The triad covers ordinary states of embodied life, implying that ethical vigilance and the need for purification extend beyond formal ritual moments into all daily activities.

Does ‘aśubha karma’ imply only intentional wrongdoing?

Not necessarily. In Purāṇic confessional idiom it includes intentional harms, negligent acts, and ritual/ethical lapses that generate impurity (doṣa), which the next verse addresses explicitly by including both knowing and unknowing faults.

How does this connect to tīrtha-māhātmya literature?

Tīrtha sections often pair external purification (bathing, pilgrimage) with internal purification (confession, nāma/kīrtana). This verse supplies the internal, universalizing component: the pilgrim’s acknowledgement of pervasive human fallibility.