Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 97

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

Devanagari script

यच्च भोज्ये तथा पेये भक्ष्ये चोष्ये विलेहने तद् यातु विलयं तोये यथा लवणभाजनम्

Transliteration

yacca bhojye tathā peye bhakṣye coṣye vilehane tad yātu vilayaṃ toye yathā lavaṇabhājanam

Translation

And whatever (sin) there is in what is eaten and likewise in what is drunk—in what is chewed, sucked, and licked—may that go to dissolution in the water, like salt in a vessel (dissolves).

Speakers

• Unspecified; functions as a liturgical line within a bathing/expiation sequence.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Ritual purification
• Food-ethics and impurity removal
• Tirtha-water as dissolver of sin
• Simile-based didactic style

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is meant by sins ‘in food and drink’?

The verse points to impurities accrued through consumption—wrongful acquisition, improper offerings, forbidden items, or eating/drinking with unethical intent. By listing modes of intake (chewed/sucked/licked), it comprehensively covers consumption-related defilement.

Why compare sin’s removal to salt dissolving in water?

Salt’s dissolution is immediate and irreversible; the simile asserts that, through proper tirtha-rite (snāna with intention), the enumerated impurities are meant to lose their binding force, becoming ‘undifferentiated’ and no longer clinging to the person.

Does this imply any water can purify?

In Purāṇic logic, the efficacy is tied to ‘tīrtha-toya’—water sanctified by place, deity, and rite. The verse’s ‘toye’ is best read as the specific sacred water of the chapter’s described pilgrimage site(s), not ordinary water.