Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 7

Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology

Devanagari script

स्थानं त्रैलोक्यमास्थाय मूलाहारो ऽम्बुभोजनः वाय्वाहारस्तदा तस्थौ नववरिषशतं क्रमात्

Transliteration

sthānaṃ trailokyamāsthāya mūlāhāro 'mbubhojanaḥ vāyvāhārastadā tasthau navavariṣaśataṃ kramāt

Translation

ទ្រង់បានឈរជាស្ថានដូចជាគ្របដណ្តប់ត្រីលោក; ទ្រង់ចិញ្ចឹមជីវិតដោយឫស បន្ទាប់មកដោយទឹក បន្ទាប់មកដោយខ្យល់; ដូច្នេះ ទ្រង់បានស្ថិតក្នុងតបស្យា តាមលំដាប់ អស់៩០០ឆ្នាំ។

Word by Word

• sthānam: a place
• sthānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• trailokyam: pertaining to the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—त्रयः लोकाः यस्य (त्रैलोक्य)

• āsthāya: having taken/occupied
• āsthāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = ‘आस्थाय’ (having resorted to/occupied)

• mūla-āhāraḥ: one whose food is roots
• mūla-āhāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—मूलम् आहारः यस्य

• ambu-bhojanaḥ: one who consumes only water
• ambu-bhojanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ambu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—अम्बु भोजनं यस्य

• vāyu-āhāraḥ: one who lives on air
• vāyu-āhāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—वायुः आहारः यस्य

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (काल/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• tasthau: stood / remained
• tasthau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• nava-variṣa-śatam: nine hundred years
• nava-variṣa-śatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + variṣa/varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु—नव-शतं वर्षाणाम् (900 years)

• kramāt: gradually / in sequence
• kramāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) = ‘क्रमात्’ (in due order/gradually)

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purāṇic dialogue context (chapter-level frame not provided in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Extreme tapas
• Progressive fasting vows (mūla→ambu→vāyu)
• Cosmic scale of ascetic power
• Time-span and merit accumulation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How should ‘sthānaṃ trailokyamāsthāya’ be understood—literal or hyperbolic?

It is best read as Purāṇic hyperbole indicating the ascetic’s tapas becomes ‘world-filling’ in potency—his presence and vow acquire cosmic consequence, not that he physically occupies all realms.

What is the significance of the dietary sequence roots → water → air?

It encodes graded renunciation: from minimal solid food (roots) to liquid-only (water) to prāṇa-based subsistence (air). This is a standard Purāṇic way to signal intensification of tapas and mastery over bodily needs.

Does the ‘nine hundred years’ figure have a doctrinal function?

Yes. Such long durations mark tapas as supra-human and legitimizing—establishing the yati’s authority and the inevitability of divine response in later narrative developments.