Vamana Purana — Vamana's Birth, Shloka 15

Vamana’s Birth during Bali’s Horse-Sacrifice and the Mapping of Vishnu’s Sacred Presences

Devanagari script

प्रजग्मुस्तुष्टिमतुलां ते ह्लादं परमं ययः विविशुः प्रीतमनसो हंसा इव महासरः

Transliteration

prajagmustuṣṭimatulāṃ te hlādaṃ paramaṃ yayaḥ viviśuḥ prītamanaso haṃsā iva mahāsaraḥ

Translation

Mereka mencapai kepuasan yang tiada banding dan kegembiraan tertinggi; dengan hati bersukacita mereka memasuki danau besar, bagaikan angsa memasuki perairan alaminya.

Speakers

• Narrative voice (Purāṇic narrator) describing pilgrims/visitors (exact interlocutors not specified in the provided excerpt).

Key Themes

• Tirtha-yatra (pilgrimage)
• Purificatory power of sacred waters
• Inner joy as fruit of sacred geography
• Haṃsa symbolism (purity/discernment)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse compare the entrants to ‘haṃsas’ (swans)?

In Purāṇic and āśrama symbolism, the haṃsa represents purity, serenity, and discriminative wisdom; the simile suggests that the lake is a natural, sanctifying abode for the spiritually inclined, and that entering it is effortless and auspicious—like swans entering water.

Is ‘mahāsaraḥ’ a generic lake or a named tīrtha?

Here it functions as a descriptive term (‘great lake’). In the Saromāhātmya-style sections of the Vāmana Purāṇa, such descriptors often refer to a specific sacred lake already introduced earlier in the chapter; the proper name is not present in the supplied line.

What is the implied religious result of entering the sacred lake?

The verse foregrounds experiential fruit—‘incomparable contentment’ and ‘supreme joy’—which in tīrtha-māhātmya literature signals both immediate mental purification and the broader merit (puṇya) associated with contact with sanctified waters.