Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

अहमासं पुरा विप्रः शाकले नगरोत्तमे सोमशर्मेति विख्यातो बहुलागर्भसंभवः

Transliteration

ahamāsaṃ purā vipraḥ śākale nagarottame somaśarmeti vikhyāto bahulāgarbhasaṃbhavaḥ

Translation

പണ്ടുകാലത്ത് ഞാൻ ശാകല എന്ന ഉത്തമ നഗരത്തിൽ ഒരു ബVamana Purana,55,25,VamP 55.25,tataś cāsau dānavo viṣṇuśarvau samāyātau tajjighāṃsū sureśau matvājeyau śatrubhirghorarupau bhayāstoye nimnagāyāṃ viveśa,ततश् चासौ दानवो विष्णुशर्वौ समायातौ तज्जिघांसू सुरेशौ मत्वाजेयौ शत्रुभिर्घोररुपौ भयास्तोये निम्नगायां विवेश,Andhaka Vadha,Battle Narrative / Flight and Concealment,Adhyaya 55 (Andhaka-vadha-prasaṅga: The Daitya hides from Hari and Śarva),55.25,tataś cāsau dānavo viṣṇuśarvau samāyātau tajjighāṃsū sureśau matvājeyau śatrubhirghorarupau bhayāstoye nimnagāyāṃ viveśa,tataś cāsau dānavo viṣṇu-śarvau samāyātau taj-jighāṃsū sureśau | matvā ajeyau śatrubhir ghora-rūpau bhayāt toye nimnagāyāṃ viveśa ||,Then that Dānava

Speakers

• Preta-nāyaka speaking (self-identification) to the merchant’s son

Key Themes

• Past-life identity and social status (vipra)
• Karma-phala groundwork (who the speaker was)
• Purāṇic use of place-name anchoring (Śākala)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the narrative specify the city Śākala and the mother’s name Bahulā?

Purāṇic karma narratives often authenticate the backstory through concrete identifiers—place, personal name, and lineage. Naming Śākala anchors the episode geographically, while naming Bahulā provides genealogical specificity, strengthening the causal link between past identity and present condition.

What does ‘vipra’ imply here beyond ‘brāhmaṇa’?

Vipra connotes learnedness and Vedic competence, not merely birth. In karma-phala stories, this heightens the ethical stakes: a person with knowledge and ritual standing is expected to uphold dharma, so deviation (if later described) becomes more consequential.

Is Śākala identifiable in broader Indic geography?

Śākala is a well-known toponym in classical sources, often associated with the northwestern cultural sphere (frequently linked with the Śākala/Sialkot region in later identifications). In this verse, its primary function is narrative-geographic anchoring rather than a tīrtha description.