Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 61

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

वाकारं नाभिसंयुक्तं स्थितस्तत्र तु वृश्चिकः मासो मार्गशिरो नाम त्वष्टमं पत्रकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

vākāraṃ nābhisaṃyuktaṃ sthitastatra tu vṛścikaḥ māso mārgaśiro nāma tvaṣṭamaṃ patrakaṃ smṛtam

Translation

‘വ’ അക്ഷരം നാഭിയോടു ചേർന്നതെന്നു പറയുന്നു; അവിടെ വൃശ്ചിക-രാശി സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു. മാസം മാർഗശീർഷം; ഇത് എട്ടാം പത്രകമെന്നു സ്മൃതമാണ്.

Word by Word

• वाकारम्: the letter ‘vā’
• वाकारम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वा’ इति वर्णः

• नाभि-संयुक्तम्: connected with the navel
• नाभि-संयुक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः (नाभ्या/नाभेः संयुक्तम्) = ‘joined with the navel’

• स्थितः: is situated
• स्थितः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘standing/situated’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• वृश्चिकः: Scorpio sign
• वृश्चिकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृश्चिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मासः: month
• मासः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मार्गशीर्षः: Mārgaśīrṣa
• मार्गशीर्षः: Viśeṣya-nāma (विशेष्य-नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्गशीर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मास-नाम

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक

• अष्टमम्: eighth
• अष्टमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक

• पत्रकम्: petal/leaflet
• पत्रकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे—‘is remembered’

Speakers

• Narratorial/teacher voice in a structured cosmological instruction (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt).

Primary Deities

• None explicitly named in this verse

Key Themes

• Body–cosmos correspondence (nābhi)
• Zodiac–month mapping
• Mnemonic cosmology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the ‘navel’ (nābhi) introduced in an astral list?

Purāṇic cosmology often correlates macrocosm and microcosm: zodiacal divisions and months are mapped onto bodily loci (aṅga). The nābhi is a central bodily marker, frequently treated as a hub of vitality and cosmic linkage in symbolic anatomy.

Is this a standard Jyotiṣa doctrine?

Classical Jyotiṣa texts primarily treat rāśi, graha, and nakṣatra mathematically/ritually. Purāṇic passages like this add mythic-symbolic overlays (syllables, body-parts, ‘supports’) for mnemonic and sacral interpretation rather than technical astrology.

What does the verse assert about Scorpio and Mārgaśīrṣa?

It fixes a correspondence: Vṛścika is ‘placed there’ in the scheme, and the associated month named is Mārgaśīrṣa, counted as the eighth unit (patraka) in the sequence.