Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 134

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

यदेयं कम्पते भूमिस्तदा प्रक्षिप्यते बहिः यद्बाह्यतो मुनिश्रेष्ठ तद् भवेद् द्विगुणं मुने

Transliteration

yadeyaṃ kampate bhūmistadā prakṣipyate bahiḥ yadbāhyato muniśreṣṭha tad bhaved dviguṇaṃ mune

Translation

[{"question": "Why do Purāṇas pile up many names in a single verse?", "answer": "Name-litanies (nāma-stuti) function as condensed theology: each epithet highlights a distinct attribute—immutability (sthāṇu), totality (viśvarūpa), lordship (īśvara), etc.—while maintaining single-point devotion."}, {"question": "Does ‘vāmanāya’ here indicate Viṣṇu’s Vāmana avatāra?", "answer": "In this immediate Śiva-stuti context it functions as an epithet addressed to Śiva. Purāṇic stutis sometimes share divine epithets across sectarian lines to express overlapped sovereignty or auspiciousness; the surrounding names (sthāṇu, śarva) anchor the referent as Śiva."}, {"question": "What is the sense of ‘sadāgata’?", "answer": "It conveys Śiva’s perpetual presence and readiness to be approached—devotionally, the deity is ‘always arrived’ for the devotee, not distant or episodic."}]

Speakers

• Wife instructing husband; the vocatives ‘muniśreṣṭha / mune’ indicate respectful address to the sage-husband (or the narrative’s sage addressee in some recensional reading).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Omen-based injunction
• Protection of children/household
• Merit/fruit amplification motif (dviguṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does “outside becomes doubled (dviguṇa)” mean here?

It is an omen-rule: during an earth-tremor, actions taken ‘outside’ are said to yield amplified results—often interpreted as either (a) increased safety/protection for what is moved out, and/or (b) a doubled ‘phala’ (effect/fruit) of the act performed in that liminal moment.

Is ‘prakṣipyate’ literally ‘thrown out’?

The verb can be forceful (‘cast/throw’), but in context it conveys urgency: quickly move the child outside to avoid harm from collapsing structures or inauspicious influence associated with the tremor.

How does this fit the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography focus?

Purāṇic tīrtha sections often embed practical dharma and nimitta teachings within place-based legends. The locale (Śamīkarṣa) anchors the teaching, while the omen-rule supplies a behavioral code for pilgrims/settlers encountering extraordinary natural events.