Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 16
Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac
ततस्तु पूषा विहसन् दशनानि विदर्शयन् प्रोवाचैह्येहि कापालिन् पुनः पुनरथेश्वरम्
tatastu pūṣā vihasan daśanāni vidarśayan provācaihyehi kāpālin punaḥ punaratheśvaram
Then Pūṣan, laughing and showing his teeth, spoke: “Come, come, O skull-bearing ascetic (Kāpālin)!”—repeatedly addressing the Lord of the chariot (Ratheśvara).
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "hasya", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Mockery and arrogance toward the sacred (especially in a ritual context) are shown as dharma-violations that precipitate immediate karmic consequence; reverence (śraddhā) is presented as the stabilizing principle of yajña and social order.
Primarily within Vamśānucarita/Itihāsa-style narrative (accounts of gods and their deeds) rather than cosmogenesis; it functions as an etiological episode explaining a deity’s bodily mark (loss of teeth) and the consequences of ritual insult.
Pūṣan ‘showing teeth’ symbolizes derisive speech and ego; the impending loss of teeth becomes a tangible emblem that prideful ridicule is self-disfiguring, while Śiva’s Kāpālin aspect represents the fierce guardianship of sacred order when violated.