Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 24

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

मत्सरित्वं वाग्दुष्टत्वं निष्टुरत्वं तथा परम् टाकित्वं तालवादित्वं नाम्ना वाचाप्यधर्मजम्

Transliteration

matsaritvaṃ vāgduṣṭatvaṃ niṣṭuratvaṃ tathā param ṭākitvaṃ tālavāditvaṃ nāmnā vācāpyadharmajam

Translation

嫉み；邪悪で害意ある言葉；言葉の苛烈さ（語の残酷）と、さらに罵倒・嘲弄の悪口；そして騒々しい手拍子や喧噪の誇示——これらは名のとおり、言葉においてさえアダルマ（非正法）より生じた過失である。

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (within Adhyaya 35’s didactic discourse).

Key Themes

• Dharma of speech (vāg-dharma)
• Ethics and self-restraint
• Sin taxonomy (pāpa-nirdeśa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse classify these as ‘adharma-born’ specifically in relation to speech?

The list targets social and ritual order: envy and verbal cruelty fracture community, while taunting and disruptive noise-making undermine decorum (especially in assemblies, teaching, or worship). The Purāṇic ethic treats speech as a primary karmic gateway; hence ‘even in speech’ (vācā api) these are adharma’s offspring.

What is the likely sense of ṭākitva and tālavāditva here?

Ṭākitva is best read as taunting/heckling—interjecting insults or derisive remarks. Tālavāditva literally ‘clapping the tāla’ can be neutral in music, but here it functions as boisterous, attention-seeking, or disruptive noise—conduct that degrades a sacred or civil setting.

How does this verse fit a tirtha-oriented Purāṇa like the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Tīrtha-māhātmya sections commonly pair geography with discipline: pilgrimage is not only movement through sacred space but also purification of conduct. The text therefore enumerates inner/behavioral impurities that obstruct the fruit of worship and yātrā.