Vamana Purana — Sin-Destroying Hymn (Part 1), Shloka 39

The Second Sin-Destroying Hymn (Pāpaśamana Stava) and the Syncretic Praise of Hari-Hara

Devanagari script

स्रुक्स्रुवौ परधामासि कपालोलूखलो ऽरणिः यज्ञपात्राणेयस्त्वमेकधा बहुधा त्रिधा

Transliteration

sruksruvau paradhāmāsi kapālolūkhalo 'raṇiḥ yajñapātrāṇeyastvamekadhā bahudhā tridhā

Translation

Trivikrama: Viṣṇu as ‘the three-stepper’ (cosmic stride form); Kālinḍī: the Yamunā river (named from Mount Kalinda), a major tīrtha-river; Liṅgabheda: a tīrtha-name (lit. ‘division/cleft of the liṅga’), associated with Śaiva worship; Bhava: epithet of Śiva (‘the Becoming/Existence’), here ‘vibhu’ (all-pervading, mighty); vibhu: powerful, omnipresent lord; Kedāra: a celebrated Śaiva kṣetra/tīrtha (Kedāranātha region), here also hosting a Viṣṇu-presence as Mādhava; Mādhava: epithet of Viṣṇu (‘belonging to Madhu / springtime lord’); Śauri: epithet of Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu (‘descendant of Śūra’); Kubjāmra: a place-name (lit. ‘crooked mango-grove’), treated as a tīrtha; Hṛṣṭamūrdhaja: a deity-epithet/name (lit. ‘born from/with delighted hair on the head’), indicating a localized divine form at Kubjāmra.

Speakers

• A devotee/narrator voice continuing the stuti within Adhyaya 60’s tirtha-oriented discourse

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva
• Agni

Key Themes

• Yajña as cosmic principle
• Ritual implements as divine body (adhyātma-yajña reading)
• Shaiva–Vaishnava convergence (kapāla alongside Vedic ladles)
• Unity-in-diversity (one/many/threefold)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are both Vedic implements (sruk/sruva/araṇi) and a skull-bowl (kapāla) mentioned together?

The list intentionally spans orthodox Vedic yajña and ascetic/Śaiva ritual symbolism. By identifying the Lord with both, the text asserts that the sacred is not confined to one ritual idiom; all legitimate sacrificial and transformative acts are grounded in the same Īśvara.

What might ‘one, many, and threefold’ (ekadhā bahudhā tridhā) imply?

At minimum it states a metaphysical principle: the deity is one reality appearing as many forms. ‘Threefold’ commonly evokes Purāṇic/Vedic triads (e.g., three sacred fires, three Vedas, or three guṇas). The verse leaves the triad open, allowing multiple orthodox readings while preserving the core claim of unity.

How does this relate to the Vāmana Purāṇa’s tirtha emphasis if no place is named here?

In tirtha-mahātmya chapters, hymns often universalize the pilgrimage act: the merit of a place is tied to recognizing the Lord as present in the very structure of worship (yajña). The stuti supplies the theological lens through which the geography becomes spiritually efficacious.