Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Pilgrimage, Shloka 10
Prahlada’s Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Sudarshana–Trishula Exchange (Jalodbhava Episode)
विधानं संप्रवक्ष्यामि यथायोगेन नारद संपूजितो हरिः कामान् विदधाति यथेप्सितान्
vidhānaṃ saṃpravakṣyāmi yathāyogena nārada saṃpūjito hariḥ kāmān vidadhāti yathepsitān
[{"question": "What does ‘apratipauruṣa’ convey about the cakra?", "answer": "It frames the discus as ‘without equal in heroic force’—not merely a weapon but an extension of Viṣṇu’s sovereign power, against which ordinary valor (pauruṣa) cannot contend."}, {"question": "Why compare the Daitya’s fall to a peak struck by Indra’s vajra?", "answer": "The simile equates Viṣṇu’s decisive act with the archetypal divine strike of the Vedic-Purāṇic imagination (Indra’s vajra). It intensifies the image of sudden, catastrophic, and irreversible downfall."}, {"question": "Does the mountain setting add geographical meaning beyond scenery?", "answer": "Yes. Even when not naming a famous tīrtha, Purāṇas often anchor myth in terrain (prastha/śaila) to sacralize space: the battlefield becomes a remembered sacred locale, and the named mountain (Suragiri) functions as a geographic mnemonic within the text’s broader sacred mapping."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The phrasing is a standard Purāṇic phala-śruti: it emphasizes that worship performed ‘yathāyogena’ (properly) yields the intended fruit. Traditional reading assumes desires aligned with dharma and the ritual’s stated aims, not license for adharmic ends.
Purāṇic vrata sections typically ground efficacy in correct observance—timing, purity, offerings, and recipients of dāna. The verse frames the next instructions as the causal basis for the promised fruit.
Nārada functions as the exemplary questioner and transmitter: by addressing him, the text signals that the teaching is meant for wider dissemination among devotees and ritual practitioners.