Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 28

Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative

Devanagari script

हलमादाय सौनन्दं नमस्ते पुरषोत्तम प्रतीच्यां रक्ष मे विष्णो भवन्तं शरणं गतः

Transliteration

halamādāya saunandaṃ namaste puraṣottama pratīcyāṃ rakṣa me viṣṇo bhavantaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

Translation

サウナンダと名づける鋤（すき）を執り、プルショーत्तマよ、汝に敬礼する。西方において我を護り給え、ヴィシュヌよ。我は汝を避難処として来帰した。

Word by Word

• halam: plough (weapon)
• halam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√dā (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having taken’

• saunandam: Saunanda (name/epithet)
• saunandam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saunanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular; proper name/epithet (as weapon/attribute)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya, salutation

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Dative, Singular

• puruṣottama: O Supreme Person
• puruṣottama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: puruṣeṣu uttamaḥ (best among persons)

• pratīcyām: in the west
• pratīcyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratīcī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• rakṣa: protect
• rakṣa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ (imperative), 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• me: me
• me: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Genitive/Dative (षष्ठी/चतुर्थी), Singular; here = ‘me’ as object of protection

• viṣṇo: O Viṣṇu
• viṣṇo: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• bhavantam: you (honored one)
• bhavantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma-honorific, Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• gataḥ: having gone (for refuge)
• gataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past active participle, Masculine, Nominative, Singular; subject understood ‘aham’

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided excerpt (likely within the Purāṇic frame-dialogue
• commonly Pulastya ↔ Nārada; verse itself is a direct address to Viṣṇu)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Vaishnavism
• Bhakti
• Protective prayer
• Directional guardianship (dik-raksha)
• Refuge (śaraṇāgati)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) is presented as the primary means of safety: the devotee does not rely on personal power but entrusts protection to the Supreme (Puruṣottama/Viṣṇu), expressed as a concrete, directional request.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classed under ancillary devotional material rather than the five defining marks; it aligns most closely with Vamśānucarita/ācāra-style sections where practice (stotra, protective recitation) is taught within the narrative frame.

What is the symbolic significance?

Assigning a specific divine implement to a direction ritualizes cosmic order: the west is ‘sealed’ by the Lord’s attribute (here, the plough), implying that dharma/order extends into spatial reality, not merely inner piety.