Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 82

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

ते मद्वचनमाकर्ण्य मत्वैव रजनीचरम् दृढं वृक्षे समुद्ब्ध्य घातयन्त तपोधन

Transliteration

te madvacanamākarṇya matvaiva rajanīcaram dṛḍhaṃ vṛkṣe samudbdhya ghātayanta tapodhana

Translation

હે તપોધન, મારા વચન સાંભળી તેમણે મને રજનીચર જ માન્યો; દૃઢપણે વૃક્ષે બાંધીને તેમણે મને પ્રહાર કરીને પાડી દીધો.

Speakers

• Narrator/first-person speaker (the reborn being) recounting events to the listening interlocutor(s) in the chapter’s dialogue frame (not provided in prompt).

Key Themes

• Karmic consequence
• Mistaken identity and violence
• Ascetic authority (tapo-dhana)
• Moral causality in puranic narrative

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are the ascetics described as ‘tapo-dhana’ while committing violence?

The epithet marks their ascetic status, not infallibility. Puranic exempla often show that even religious agents can act harshly under fear or misrecognition; the narrative then pivots to karmic explanation and later release.

What does ‘rajanīcara’ imply here?

Literally ‘one who moves at night’; in puranic idiom it commonly denotes a rākṣasa or malevolent being. The verse indicates the ascetics’ assumption (matvā) rather than a confirmed identity.

Is the tree-binding motif significant?

Yes. Binding to a tree is a stock punitive image in dharma-narratives, emphasizing restraint and public chastisement; it also sets up the later karmic account of why the victim suffers and how release occurs.