Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 19
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
तमाक्रन्दितमाकर्ण्य हिरण्याक्षसुतो ऽन्धकः प्रोवाच मा भैष्टच मयि स्थिते को ऽयं सुराधमः
tamākranditamākarṇya hiraṇyākṣasuto 'ndhakaḥ provāca mā bhaiṣṭaca mayi sthite ko 'yaṃ surādhamaḥ
Entendant ces lamentations, Andhaka, fils de Hiraṇyākṣa, déclara : « Ne craignez rien tant que je me tiens ici ; quel est donc ce dieu misérable ? »
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FAQs
The passage illustrates the dynamics of adharma-driven leadership: reassurance is offered not through truth-seeking but through pride and contempt. It is a cautionary portrait of courage untethered from righteousness.
Vamśānucarita/Carita: it continues the narrative of daitya lineages (Hiraṇyākṣa → Andhaka) and their conduct within the cosmic struggle.
Andhaka’s rhetorical question (“who is this surādhama?”) signals inversion of values: the deva is demeaned, while daitya power is self-exalted—an archetypal Purāṇic marker of tamasic delusion preceding a corrective intervention.