Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 16

Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

आदित्याद्यास्त्रिलोकेश समं शक्रादिभिः सुरैः मातृष्वसा विपन्नेयमन्तर्दुःखेन दह्यती

Transliteration

ādityādyāstrilokeśa samaṃ śakrādibhiḥ suraiḥ mātṛṣvasā vipanneyamantarduḥkhena dahyatī

Translation

ああ三界の主よ、アーディティヤをはじめ諸神は、インドラらの天（デーヴァ）とともに[そこにいる]。それでもこの母方の叔母（mātṛṣvasā）は災いに遭い、内なる悲しみに焼かれている。

Word by Word

• āditya-ādyāḥ: the Ādityas and others
• āditya-ādyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (āditya as first member; 'beginning with the Ādityas'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• triloka-īśa: O lord of the three worlds
• triloka-īśa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'lord of the three worlds'; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• samam: together/equally
• samam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'equally/together'

• śakra-ādibhiḥ: with Śakra (Indra) and others
• śakra-ādibhiḥ: Sahakāraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'with Indra and others'; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• suraiḥ: with the gods
• suraiḥ: Sahakāraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• mātṛ-ṣvasā: the maternal aunt
• mātṛ-ṣvasā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ṣvasṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'mother's sister' (maternal aunt); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vipannā: distressed/ruined
• vipannā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√pad (धातु) + vipanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with iyam

• iyam: this (she)
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• antar-duḥkhena: by inner grief
• antar-duḥkhena: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antar (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'inner sorrow'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (duḥkha), तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• dahyatī: is burning/is being consumed
• dahyatī: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; passive/ātmanepada usage: 'is being burned'

Speakers

• Jayā (implied continuing speech) addressing ‘trilokeśa’ (likely Śiva in context) or a high divine addressee; narrated by Pulastya

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Indra

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Deva assembly
• Inner grief vs outer ceremony
• Daksha-Yajna

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

External grandeur—assemblies of devas and ritual pomp—cannot resolve inner adharma or emotional injury; Purāṇic ethics repeatedly privilege inner truth (antar-bhāva) over mere public validation.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Again, episodic sacred history (carita) rather than sarga/pratisarga; it supports dharma-teaching through exemplary narrative about the consequences of ritual pride and relational harm.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Burning with inner sorrow’ prefigures Rudra’s outward fire-like rage: the feminine interior pain becomes the narrative seed for cosmic-ritual disruption, showing psyche and cosmos mirrored in Purāṇic storytelling.