Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 79

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

दासीदासांश्च भृत्यांश्च गृहं रत्नं परिच्छदम् समर्थेषु द्विजेन्द्रेषु प्रयच्छस्व महाभुज

Transliteration

dāsīdāsāṃśca bhṛtyāṃśca gṛhaṃ ratnaṃ paricchadam samartheṣu dvijendreṣu prayacchasva mahābhuja

Translation

["ṣoḍaśī kalā", "nānāyudha-viśārada", "asura boast", "Viṣṇu supremacy", "Bali’s army"]

Speakers

• Vāmana (Viṣṇu) instructing the Asura ruler (addressed as mahābhuja) to redirect wealth through dāna.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vāmana)

Key Themes

• Dana (Charity)
• Merit through gifting to worthy recipients
• Detachment from household possessions
• Brahminical recipient-ethics (pātra)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse emphasize giving to ‘samartha dvijendras’ (capable foremost Brahmins)?

Purāṇic dāna theory stresses pātra (worthy recipient). ‘Samartha’ signals fitness—learning, conduct, and capacity to use gifts dharmically—so that the donor’s act yields stable merit rather than being squandered or misused.

Is the instruction to give away servants and a house literal or exemplary?

Within Purāṇic moral rhetoric it functions as an extreme exemplar of non-attachment: even what is most ‘owned’ (household, dependents, valuables) should be relinquished when dharma demands. Historically, such lists also serve as conventional catalogues of wealth to indicate total renunciation/complete donation.

How does this verse connect to the narrative’s theological point?

In the Vāmana–Bali cycle, the Asura ruler’s possessions are shown to be ultimately non-sovereign before Viṣṇu. The verse reframes inevitable loss into voluntary dharmic transfer—transforming precarious wealth into religious merit and aligning the ruler with dharma despite impending dispossession.