Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 22

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

मुद्गलस्य मुनेः पुत्रो ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगः कोशकार इति ख्यात आसीद् ब्रह्मंस्तपोरतः

Transliteration

mudgalasya muneḥ putro jñānavijñānapāragaḥ kośakāra iti khyāta āsīd brahmaṃstaporataḥ

Translation

{"scene_description": "Portrait-like depiction of Sutā, the virtuous wife of Kośakāra, embodying dharma and fidelity; calm household sanctity.", "primary_figures": ["Sutā", "Kośakāra"], "setting": "Hermitage-home threshold with lamps, water-pot, and simple ornaments; atmosphere of purity.", "color_palette": ["white", "soft red", "gold", "leaf green", "earth brown"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore devotional domestic scene: Sutā with modest jewelry and sari, serene face, holding a lamp or water-pot, Kośakāra nearby with ascetic marks, gold-leaf detailing and auspicious kolam patterns", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature: gentle couple in hermitage courtyard, Sutā in soft red/white garments, delicate floral background, intimate calm mood", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural: Sutā with bold-lined eyes and graceful posture, symbolic lotus and lamp, warm pigments, temple-wall aesthetic", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra: stylized pativratā figure with patterned sari, narrative border motifs, Kośakāra seated with rosary, flat decorative composition"}

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher voice addressing a Brahmin interlocutor (brahman). (Exact named speakers not present in the given excerpt.)

Key Themes

• Genealogical framing
• Asceticism (tapas)
• Ideal of jñāna-vijñāna (knowledge and realization)
• Character introduction

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse pair jñāna and vijñāna for Kośakāra?

In Purāṇic idiom, jñāna often denotes doctrinal or essential knowledge, while vijñāna emphasizes realized discernment—knowledge that has become lived insight. Calling him jñāna-vijñāna-pāraga marks him as both learned and spiritually accomplished, setting a high contrast for what follows in the narrative.

What does the name/epithet ‘Kośakāra’ imply?

Literally ‘maker of a kośa’ (sheath/case/covering). In Purāṇic naming, such epithets can preserve a remembered craft, a symbolic trait (one who ‘fashions coverings’), or a narrative marker. Here it functions primarily as a recognized name while also hinting at themes of ‘sheath’ and ‘inner knowledge’ that Purāṇas sometimes exploit.

Does this verse contain any tīrtha or geographic marker typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

No. This line is purely genealogical/character-introductory; the geography-centered material appears elsewhere in the text, but not in the provided śloka.