Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 75

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

स्वधर्मकर्मवृत्तिस्थः श्रवणद्वादशीरतः कालधर्ममवाप्यासौ गुह्यकावासमाश्रयत्

Transliteration

svadharmakarmavṛttisthaḥ śravaṇadvādaśīrataḥ kāladharmamavāpyāsau guhyakāvāsamāśrayat

Translation

tataḥ: then, thereafter. prītaḥ: pleased, satisfied. prabhuḥ: the Lord (here, Śiva as giver). prādād: gave, granted. viṣṇave: to Viṣṇu. paramaṃ varam: the supreme boon. pratyakṣam: manifest, directly present. taijasam: radiant, fiery, made of splendor/energy. śrīmān: glorious, auspicious, illustrious. divyam: divine, celestial. cakram: discus/weapon. sudarśanam: ‘of good/auspicious vision’; the name of Viṣṇu’s discus.

Speakers

• Narrator continuing the karmic biography of the same figure; the verse functions as a dharma-and-phala statement.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (implied by dvādaśī observance)
• Kubera (implied through Guhyakas)

Key Themes

• Svadharma and right conduct
• Vrata/observance (Dvādaśī)
• Inevitability of death (Kāla-dharma)
• Afterlife destinations and merit

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is ‘Śravaṇa-dvādaśī’ and why is it highlighted?

It is the dvādaśī tithi occurring in the month of Śrāvaṇa. Dvādaśī is widely treated as Viṣṇu-priya (dear to Viṣṇu) and is a common marker of vrata-based merit in Purāṇic narratives; the verse uses it as a concise indicator of sustained devotional discipline.

How should ‘kāla-dharma’ be understood—fate, death, or cosmic law?

All three are intertwined in Purāṇic diction. Here it most directly means ‘meeting death in due time,’ framed not as accident but as the ordained course of Kāla (Time), which no embodied being escapes.

Why does the merit lead specifically to ‘Guhyaka-āvāsa’?

Guhyakas are Kubera’s attendants and represent a prosperous, protected, semi-celestial station. The text presents it as an intermediate exalted realm attained through dharma and vrata, before further rebirth or liberation-oriented pursuits.