Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 96

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

परदारपरद्रव्यवाञ्छाद्रोहोद्भवं च यत् परपीडोद्भवां निन्दां कुर्वता यन्महात्मनाम्

Transliteration

paradāraparadravyavāñchādrohodbhavaṃ ca yat parapīḍodbhavāṃ nindāṃ kurvatā yanmahātmanām

Translation

Whatever sin arises from desiring another’s wife and another’s property, and whatever sin arises from treachery; and whatever slander, born of harming others, is committed against great-souled persons—(may all that be removed).

Speakers

• Unspecified in the excerpt; the verse reads as a vow/prayer formula typical of a pilgrim or narrator prescribing expiation through tirtha-water.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Prayashchitta (expiation)
• Ethics of non-coveting and non-harm
• Condemnation of slander of the virtuous
• Purification through sacred waters

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What kinds of wrongdoing are being singled out in this verse?

Three clusters are named: (1) sexual and economic coveting—desire for another’s spouse and property; (2) droha—breach of trust or betrayal; and (3) nindā—harmful speech, especially slander directed at mahātman-s (the noble/saintly), treated as a serious moral fault in Purāṇic dharma.

Why is slander of ‘mahātmanām’ emphasized?

Purāṇas frequently treat offenses against the virtuous as spiritually corrosive because they attack dharma embodied in persons. The verse frames such speech as ‘parapīḍodbhavā nindā’—slander rooted in harming others—linking verbal injury to moral violence.

How does this connect to a tirtha context if no place-name is given?

The surrounding verses (including the next one’s ‘toye’) use a standard pilgrimage-prayer idiom: enumerating sins and then asking that they dissolve in sacred water. This is typical of Saromāhātmya-style passages where the tīrtha’s water is the ritual medium of purification.