Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 25
Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells
धनाधिपत्यं भोगानि स्वाध्यायं शकरर्चनम् अहङ्कारमशौण्डीर्यं धर्मो ऽयं गुह्यकेष्विति
dhanādhipatyaṃ bhogāni svādhyāyaṃ śakararcanam ahaṅkāramaśauṇḍīryaṃ dharmo 'yaṃ guhyakeṣviti
La seigneurie sur les richesses, la jouissance des plaisirs (bhoga), le svādhyāya védique et le culte de Śaṅkara (Śiva) ; l’ahaṅkāra (orgueil) et l’absence de fanfaronnade : tel est, dit-on, le dharma parmi les Guhyakas.
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse treats “dharma” descriptively—as the characteristic disposition of a class of beings. Even wealth and enjoyment are framed alongside svādhyāya and Śiva-worship, suggesting that prosperity is not condemned when paired with discipline and devotion; yet it also notes ego as a salient trait, tempered by an injunction-like praise of non-boastfulness.
This is not sarga/pratisarga (cosmogony) but aligns best with ancillary purāṇic material supporting dharma/ācāra and variegated characterization within narrative (often grouped under vṛtti-like ethical instruction rather than the five core lakṣaṇas). If forced into the five, it is closest to Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-style didactic characterization embedded in dialogue, not genealogy itself.
By making Śiva-worship a defining mark of Guhyakas (Kubera’s sphere), the text normalizes Śaiva devotion across non-human orders, reflecting the Purāṇa’s non-sectarian texture: devotion to Śiva appears as a stable axis of order even within wealth-associated beings.