Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 21

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

अथाजगाम प्रेतो ऽसौ पर्यटित्वा वनानि च उपागम्य शमीमूले वणिक्पुत्रं ददर्श सः

Transliteration

athājagāma preto 'sau paryaṭitvā vanāni ca upāgamya śamīmūle vaṇikputraṃ dadarśa saḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് ആ പ്രേതം വനങ്ങൾ ചുറ്റി സഞ്ചരിച്ച് ശമീമരത്തിന്റെ വേരിനരികെ എത്തി; അവിടെ വ്യാപാരിയുടെ പുത്രനെ കണ്ടു।

Speakers

• Narratorial voice (context not provided in prompt).

Key Themes

• Liminal meeting between human and preta
• Forest as a transitional narrative space
• Śamī tree as a ritual marker and meeting-point

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the śamī tree singled out as the location of the encounter?

In Purāṇic and Dharmaśāstra milieus, the śamī is ritually charged (associated with auspiciousness, vrata observances, and symbolic protection). Placing the meeting at its root frames the encounter as occurring at a morally and ritually meaningful spot, not a random location.

Does 'vanāni' indicate a specific sacred forest in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not in this verse. The term is generic ('forests') and does not identify a named vana or tirtha. In a geography-focused Purāṇa, named sites are often explicit; here the narrative remains non-specific geographically.

What is the narrative function of introducing a 'vaṇikputra' (merchant’s son)?

Merchant figures commonly anchor dharma narratives involving travel, exchange, charity, and practical ethics. The 'merchant’s son' often becomes the human interlocutor through whom the text explores merit, rites, or moral instruction prompted by a supernatural encounter.