Vamana Purana — Prahlada at Kurukshetra, Shloka 21

Prahlada’s Kurukshetra Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Chakra–Trishula Exchange

Devanagari script

देवासुराणामजयो महाहवे निजैश्च शस्त्रैरमरैरवध्यः ब्रह्मर्षिशापैश्च निरीप्सितार्थो जले च वह्नौ स्वगुणोपहर्त्ता

Transliteration

devāsurāṇāmajayo mahāhave nijaiśca śastrairamarairavadhyaḥ brahmarṣiśāpaiśca nirīpsitārtho jale ca vahnau svaguṇopaharttā

Translation

[{"question": "Why does the merchant read moral or ontological status from bodily appearance?", "answer": "Purāṇic literature often treats the body as a visible index of inner condition—merit, authority, tapas, or karmic burden. Radiance (tejas) and auspicious form (śubha) commonly mark higher status, while emaciation (kṛśatā) can signal deprivation, servitude, or karmic affliction."}, {"question": "What might explain the attendants being emaciated while the Pretapāla is radiant?", "answer": "The contrast typically invites an explanation: (a) hierarchical distribution of power/merit among otherworldly functionaries; (b) differing karmic histories; or (c) the Pretapāla’s proximity to a potent tīrtha or boon that sustains him, while attendants remain under constraint. The next verses in such dialogues usually disclose the causal story."}, {"question": "Is ‘varṇataḥ’ about skin color or general appearance?", "answer": "Varṇa can mean color/complexion, but in narrative description it often extends to ‘outward aspect’ or ‘visible condition.’ Here it functions as a comparative marker—‘in appearance they are thin’—rather than a doctrinal statement about caste (also called varṇa in other contexts)."}]Vamana Purana,55,22,VamP 55.22,evaṃprabhāvo danupuṅgavo 'sau devān maharṣīn nṛpatīn samagrān ābādhamāno vicacāra bhūmyāṃ sarvāḥ kriyā nāśayadugramūrtiḥ,एवंप्रभावो दनुपुङ्गवो ऽसौ देवान् महर्षीन् नृपतीन् समग्रान् आबाधमानो विचचार भूम्यां सर्वाः क्रिया नाशयदुग्रमूर्तिः,Andhaka Vadha,World-Oppression Narrative,Adhyaya 55 (Andhaka’s rise and oppression of the worlds),22,evaṃprabhāvo danupuṅgavo 'sau devān maharṣīn nṛpatīn samagrān ābādhamāno vicacāra bhūmyāṃ sarvāḥ kriyā nāśayadugramūrtiḥ,evaṃ-prabhāvo danu-puṅgavo ’sau devān maharṣīn nṛpatīn samagrān | ābādhamāno vicacāra bhūmyāṃ sarvāḥ kriyā nāśayad ugra-mūrtiḥ ||,Thus powerful

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing Andhaka’s invincibility to the audience within the chapter’s frame

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Andhaka’s boons and near-invulnerability
• Limits of weapons and curses
• Cosmic imbalance caused by an asura’s power

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are weapons, curses, water, and fire all mentioned together?

The verse stacks multiple ‘defeating conditions’ to portray a boon-like invulnerability: martial defeat (weapons), ritual-moral defeat (ṛṣi-śāpa), and elemental defeat (water/fire). This is a common Purāṇic way to signal that ordinary cosmic regulators cannot restrain the asura.

What does ‘svaguṇopaharttā’ imply about his protection?

It indicates an internalized protection—his own inherent power cancels hostile forces—rather than external armor or allies. This prepares the narrative need for a higher divine intervention (typically Śiva in the Andhaka cycle).

Does ‘brahmarṣiśāpaiśca’ mean the sages’ curses were wrong?

Not necessarily. Purāṇas often depict boons or extraordinary tapas as creating exceptional immunity, so the curse remains potent in principle but is obstructed from reaching its intended effect (nirīpsitārtha) against this particular target.