Vamana Purana — Kali's Complaint to Brahma (Part 2), Shloka 45

Kali’s Complaint to Brahma and the Arrival of Śrī (Jayaśrī) in Bali’s Reign

Devanagari script

शौण्डीर्यमानिनं वीरं ततो ऽहं स्वयमागता नाश्चर्य दानवश्रेष्ठ हिरण्यकशिपोः कुले

Transliteration

śauṇḍīryamāninaṃ vīraṃ tato 'haṃ svayamāgatā nāścarya dānavaśreṣṭha hiraṇyakaśipoḥ kule

Translation

ധൈര്യപരാക്രമത്തിൽ അഭിമാനം കൊള്ളുന്ന വീരനായ നിങ്ങളെ കണ്ടുകൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ സ്വയം ഇവിടെ വന്നിരിക്കുന്നു. ഹേ ദാനവശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ഇതിൽ അത്ഭുതമില്ല; നിങ്ങൾ ഹിരണ്യകശിപുവിന്റെ കുലത്തിൽ ജനിച്ചവനല്ലോ.

Speakers

• (Vāmana/Viṣṇu in disguise) speaking to Bali

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vāmana)

Key Themes

• Testing of dharma
• Royal pride vs. righteousness
• Lineage and inherited disposition
• Vāmana’s strategic speech (parīkṣā)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Vāmana mention Hiraṇyakaśipu’s lineage here?

The remark frames Bali’s temperament (valor mixed with pride) as a hereditary Daitya trait, while also setting up a moral test: whether Bali will transcend the ‘asuric’ pattern through truthful giving and restraint.

Is this praise or criticism?

It is deliberately double-edged. Vāmana flatters Bali as ‘best of Dānavas’ while subtly pointing to the danger of śauṇḍīrya (swaggering pride), preparing the ground for Bali’s ethical trial.

Does this verse contain any tīrtha or geographic marker typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

No explicit river, lake, forest, or tīrtha is named in this śloka; it functions as narrative dialogue within the Bali episode rather than a māhātmya-geography passage.