Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 50

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

तस्यां गतायां वरदः कुजस्य प्रादाद् वरं सर्ववरोत्तमं यत् ग्रहाधिपत्यं जगातां शुभाशुभं भविष्यति त्वद्वरागं महात्मन // वम्प्_44.48 हरो ऽन्धकं वर्षसहस्रमात्रं दिव्यं स्वनेत्रार्कहुताशनेन चकार संशुष्कतनुं त्वशोणितं त्वगस्थिशेषं भगवान् स भैरवः // वम्प्_44.49 तत्राग्निना नेत्रभवेन शुद्धः स मुक्तपापो ऽसुरराड् बभुव ततः प्रजानां बहुरूपमीशं नाथं हि सर्वस्य चराचरस्य

Transliteration

tasyāṃ gatāyāṃ varadaḥ kujasya prādād varaṃ sarvavarottamaṃ yat grahādhipatyaṃ jagātāṃ śubhāśubhaṃ bhaviṣyati tvadvarāgaṃ mahātmana // VamP_44.48 haro 'ndhakaṃ varṣasahasramātraṃ divyaṃ svanetrārkahutāśanena cakāra saṃśuṣkatanuṃ tvaśoṇitaṃ tvagasthiśeṣaṃ bhagavān sa bhairavaḥ // VamP_44.49 tatrāgninā netrabhavena śuddhaḥ sa muktapāpo 'surarāḍ babhuva tataḥ prajānāṃ bahurūpamīśaṃ nāthaṃ hi sarvasya carācarasya

Translation

તે ત્યાં ગઈ પછી વરદ કુજ (મંગળ) એ સર્વોત્તમ વર આપ્યો—હે મહાત્મન, તારા વરપ્રભાવથી તે ગ્રહોમાં અધિપત્ય પામશે અને જીવોના શુભ-અશુભ ફળનો નિયંતા બનશે। ત્યારબાદ ભગવાન ભૈરવરૂપ હરએ પોતાના નેત્ર-સૂર્યની અગ્નિથી અંધકને એક સહસ્ર દિવ્ય વર્ષ સુધી દગ્ધ કરી તેનું શરીર સુકવી દીધું—ત્વચા અને રક્ત વિહિન કરીને માત્ર ત્વચા-અસ્થિનો અવશેષ રાખ્યો। તે નેત્રજ અગ્નિથી શુદ્ધ થઈ અસુરરાજ પાપમુક્ત થયો; પછી તેણે ચરાચર સર્વના નાથ, બહુરૂપ ઈશ્વરને ઓળખ્યો।

Speakers

• Narrator voice (Purāṇic narrator) describing events; Andhaka is the subject of the narrative.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Hara)
• Bhairava
• Kuja (Mars)

Key Themes

• Boons and their karmic consequences
• Planetary governance (graha-adhipatya) and śubhāśubha-phala
• Śiva’s eye-fire as purificatory punishment
• Sin-removal through divine chastisement
• Recognition of the supreme Lord (īśvara-jñāna)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is Kuja (Mars) connected with ‘auspicious and inauspicious’ outcomes here?

The verse frames Kuja’s boon as ‘grahādhipatya’—planetary rulership—implying a jyotiṣa-like worldview where grahas administer karmic results (śubha/āśubha). Mars is classically linked with vigor, conflict, injury, and decisive action; thus his ‘governance’ naturally extends to mixed outcomes depending on merit and demerit.

Is Bhairava’s eye-fire purely punitive, or also purificatory?

Both. The narrative explicitly states that Andhaka is ‘śuddhaḥ’ (purified) by the eye-born fire and becomes ‘mukta-pāpa’ (freed from sin). The prolonged burning symbolizes the exhaustion of accumulated impurity and arrogance, converting punishment into a rite of purification.

What does ‘carācarasya nātha’ signal in the theology of this passage?

It is a standard Purāṇic marker of supreme lordship: the deity addressed (Śiva here) is not merely a sectarian god but the master of the entire cosmos—mobile and immobile. This prepares the ground for Andhaka’s forthcoming stuti (hymn) and his shift from opposition to recognition.