Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 24

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

ततो ऽपरो योजनकोटिभिस्तु त्रिंशद्भिरादित्यसहस्रदीप्तिः सत्याभिधानो भगवन्निवासो वरप्रदो ऽभुद् भवतो हि यो ऽसौ

Transliteration

tato 'paro yojanakoṭibhistu triṃśadbhirādityasahasradīptiḥ satyābhidhāno bhagavannivāso varaprado 'bhud bhavato hi yo 'sau

Translation

[{"question": "What is meant by “Vedic sound” causing the righteous to ‘blossom’?", "answer": "The verse treats Vedic recitation as a manifestation of sacred order (ṛta/dharma). Those aligned with dharma experience uplift and expansion (vikāsa), while those opposed to it experience fear, diminution, or loss of potency (saṃkoca)."}, {"question": "Who are ‘those sharing their disposition’ (teṣāṃ sadharmiṇaḥ)?", "answer": "Not only Asuras by birth, but any beings who adopt an Asuric orientation—hostility to sacrifice, Veda, and cosmic hierarchy—are included. The term broadens the moral category beyond lineage."}, {"question": "Is this a sectarian claim (Devas vs Asuras) or a dharmic principle?", "answer": "The framing is ethical-metaphysical: Vedic sound symbolizes alignment with cosmic law. The ‘Deva/Asura’ polarity functions as a typology of dispositions rather than merely a tribal conflict."}]

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher addressing an interlocutor referred to as ‘you’ (bhavataḥ); earlier vocatives suggest an Asura-king as listener (exact named speakers not provided in prompt)

Primary Deities

• Bhagavān (the Blessed Lord; not named explicitly)

Key Themes

• Supreme realm and divine radiance
• Boons and divine grace
• Cosmic vertical mapping by distance
• The Lord as bestower (vara-prada)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘Satya’ here the same as Satya-loka (Brahma-loka) known elsewhere?

The name aligns with the common Purāṇic ‘Satya-loka’ at the summit of the upper worlds. This verse emphasizes it as ‘bhagavan-nivāsa’ (abode of the Lord), focusing on supreme sanctity and radiance rather than administrative cosmology.

Why describe the realm as ‘radiant like a thousand suns’?

Such imagery conveys transcendence and the intensity of sattva/tejas in the highest sphere. It also functions as a narrative warning: lower beings cannot easily approach or endure that brilliance.

What does ‘that one became the giver of boons to you’ imply in context?

It links cosmography to narrative causality: the same supreme Lord associated with Satya-loka is identified as the source of a boon previously received by the listener, integrating geography (where) with theology (who grants) and story (to whom/why).