Vamana Purana — Slaying of Raktabija, Shloka 65

The Slaying of Raktabīja and Niśumbha–Śumbha; the Manifestation of the Mātṛkās and the Devas’ Hymn

Devanagari script

इमां स्तुतिं भक्तिपरा नरोत्तमा भवद्भिरुक्तामनुकीर्त्तयन्ति दुःस्वप्ननाशो भविता न संशयो वरस्तथान्यो व्रियतामभीप्सितः

Transliteration

imāṃ stutiṃ bhaktiparā narottamā bhavadbhiruktāmanukīrttayanti duḥsvapnanāśo bhavitā na saṃśayo varastathānyo vriyatāmabhīpsitaḥ

Translation

[{"question": "Who is Kuṭulā (or Kuṭilā) Devī in this passage?", "answer": "Within the excerpt she is a named goddess encountered by Agni; the text treats her as a recipient/holder of a dangerous tejas. Without the surrounding verses, her wider identification (local deity, śakti-form, or narrative personification) cannot be fixed with certainty."}, {"question": "What does tejas mean here—mere ‘light’ or something more?", "answer": "Tejas in Purāṇic usage is not only radiance but concentrated divine potency—capable of creation, destruction, or transformation—hence Agni’s emphasis that it is ‘sudurddharam’, difficult to contain safely."}, {"question": "Why is Agni the one speaking about ‘bearing’ tejas?", "answer": "Agni is the archetypal carrier and transformer of energy (havis, tapas, śakti). Narratively, he often functions as a mediator who transports or transfers potent forces that others may not withstand."}]

Speakers

• Devī (continuing her address) granting fruits of the stuti to the praisers and future reciters

Primary Deities

• Devī

Key Themes

• Phalaśruti (recitation benefits)
• Duḥsvapna-nivāraṇa (removal of nightmares)
• Bhakti and liturgical repetition
• Boons (vara)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why do Purāṇas often mention ‘destruction of bad dreams’ as a fruit of stuti?

Duḥsvapna is treated as a marker of aśubha (inauspiciousness) and psychological/spiritual disturbance. Promising its removal frames the hymn as apotropaic—protective in daily life—linking devotion, ritual speech, and well-being.

Who are the “narottamāḥ” here—gods or humans?

Although the immediate audience includes devas/ṛṣis, the wording broadens the scope to exemplary human devotees as future reciters. Purāṇic phalaśrutis commonly universalize the benefit beyond the original scene.

What is meant by “another boon may be chosen”?

It indicates an open-ended varadāna: beyond the specific fruit (duḥsvapna-nāśa), the devotee may request an additional desired boon, consistent with the Goddess’s role as a responsive grantor to sincere bhakti and stuti.