Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 47
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
स दह्यमानो दितिजो ऽग्निनाथ सुविस्वरं घोरतरं रुराव सिंहाभिपन्नो विपिने यथैव मत्तो गजः क्रन्दति वेदनार्त्तः
sa dahyamāno ditijo 'gninātha suvisvaraṃ ghorataraṃ rurāva siṃhābhipanno vipine yathaiva matto gajaḥ krandati vedanārttaḥ
そのディティの子が焼かれるとき、ああ火の主よ、彼はきわめて大きく、いよいよ恐るべき声で咆哮した。まるで森で獅子に襲われ、痛みに悶えて叫ぶ狂える象のように。
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Power without righteousness collapses into helpless suffering; the verse uses a vivid animal simile to show that arrogance (the ‘maddened elephant’) becomes vulnerability when confronted by a superior force aligned with cosmic law.
This is episodic narrative (carita) within the broader Purāṇic framework; it supports dharma-teaching through exemplum rather than contributing to sarga/pratisarga genealogical catalogues.
The lion-versus-elephant image encodes a hierarchy of forces: concentrated, incisive power (lion/Agni’s consuming principle) overwhelms diffuse might (elephant/daitya strength), indicating that inner principle (tejas) subdues brute force.