Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 51

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

न ते पुनः सम्भवन्ति तद्भक्तास्तत्परायणाः ध्यायेद् दामोदरं यस्तु भक्तिनम्रोर्ऽचयेत वा

Transliteration

na te punaḥ sambhavanti tadbhaktāstatparāyaṇāḥ dhyāyed dāmodaraṃ yastu bhaktinamror'cayeta vā

Translation

તેનાં ભક્તો, જે માત્ર તેની જ શરણમાં છે, તેઓ ફરી જન્મ લેતા નથી. જે દામોદરનું ધ્યાન કરે છે અથવા ભક્તિથી નમ્ર બની તેની અર્ચના કરે છે, તે પુનર્જન્મના બંધનથી મુક્ત થાય છે.

Speakers

• Likely the narrator-sage (commonly Pulastya) instructing Nārada in the Saromāhātmya stream (recensional variation possible).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari/Dāmodara)

Key Themes

• Bhakti (devotion) as liberating power
• Mokṣa / freedom from punarjanma
• Meditation (dhyāna) and worship (arcana)
• Hari as supreme refuge (parāyaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does “na te punaḥ sambhavanti” imply in Purāṇic theology—literal end of rebirth or a praise statement?

In Purāṇic bhakti passages it functions as a strong soteriological claim: single-pointed devotion (tat-parāyaṇatā) to Hari culminates in release from saṃsāra. Even when read as stuti (eulogy), the intended doctrinal force is that bhakti is a sufficient means to mokṣa.

Why is Viṣṇu called Dāmodara here rather than Vāmana or Trivikrama?

Adhyāya 67 is emphasizing bhakti-practice (dhyāna, arcana) and the sweetness/approachability of Hari. “Dāmodara” evokes the Kṛṣṇa-bhakti register—God bound by love—supporting the chapter’s devotional teaching rather than a specific avatāra narrative.

Is any tīrtha being praised in this verse itself?

Not directly. The verse is a general bhakti-phala statement embedded within a larger māhātmya context; the geographical/tīrtha frame belongs to the surrounding chapter, not to this śloka’s explicit vocabulary.