Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 101
The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa
भविष्यन्नरकघ्नाय नमः कंसविघातिने अरिष्टकेशिचणूरदेवारिक्षयिणे नमः
bhaviṣyannarakaghnāya namaḥ kaṃsavighātine ariṣṭakeśicaṇūradevārikṣayiṇe namaḥ
[{"question": "Why is Kurukṣetra important in a geography-forward Purāṇa like the Vāmana Purāṇa?", "answer": "Kurukṣetra functions as a paradigmatic tīrtha-field: a dense sacred landscape where vows, bathing, gifts, and sacrifices are said to yield amplified merit. Placing Bali’s yajña there ties the mythic narrative to a real pilgrimage map."}, {"question": "What does Prahlāda’s departure on tīrtha-yātrā signal in the story logic?", "answer": "It creates a narrative opening: the daitya polity is in motion, and authority is effectively with Bali. It also normalizes pilgrimage as a dharmic act even for Dānavas/Daityas, a recurring Purāṇic theme that complicates simple ‘deva vs. asura’ binaries."}, {"question": "Is this already the Vāmana–Bali ‘three steps’ episode?", "answer": "This verse is a transition into that orbit: it situates Bali at a sacrificial venue. The explicit Vāmana/Trivikrama encounter typically unfolds once the yajña is underway and the brāhmaṇa-guest arrives to request land."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
It reflects a compositional stance where the stuti enumerates deeds across time: some already accomplished (Kaṃsa, Keśin, Cāṇūra), and some foretold/inevitable within the avatāra’s career (Narakāsura). This is a common Purāṇic way to present the Lord as transcending linear time.
Such lists function as smṛti-aṅga (aids to remembrance): recalling the Lord’s dharma-restoring acts is itself meritorious and is often paired with tīrtha bathing/recitation to intensify purification and protection.
Yes. It universalizes the avatāra’s function: not only particular slayings, but the ongoing principle that the Lord removes forces hostile to divine order (ṛta/dharma), thereby safeguarding the world.