Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 3

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

यज्ञः समागात् परमाकुलत्वं न वेद्मि किं मे मधुहा करिष्यति यथा प्रदग्धो ऽस्मि महेश्वरेण किं मां न संधक्ष्ययति वासुदेवः // वम्प्_64.2 ऋक्साममन्त्राहुतिभिर्हुताभिर्वितानकीयान् ज्वलनास्तु भागान् भक्त्या द्विजेन्द्ररपि संप्रपादितान् नैव प्रतीच्चन्ति विभोर्भयेन

Transliteration

yajñaḥ samāgāt paramākulatvaṃ na vedmi kiṃ me madhuhā kariṣyati yathā pradagdho 'smi maheśvareṇa kiṃ māṃ na saṃdhakṣyayati vāsudevaḥ // VamP_64.2 ṛksāmamantrāhutibhirhutābhirvitānakīyān jvalanāstu bhāgān bhaktyā dvijendrarapi saṃprapāditān naiva pratīccanti vibhorbhayena

Translation

യജ്ഞം അത്യന്തം ആകുലമായി—“മധുഹാ എനിക്ക് എന്ത് ചെയ്യും എന്നെനിക്ക് അറിയില്ല. മഹേശ്വരൻ എന്നെ ദഹിപ്പിച്ചു; വാസുദേവനും എന്നെ പൂർണ്ണമായി ദഹിപ്പിക്കില്ലേ?” എന്നും. കൂടാതെ ഋഗ്-സാമ മന്ത്രങ്ങളോടുകൂടിയ ആഹുതികളാൽ അഗ്നികൾക്ക് അർപ്പിച്ച ഭാഗങ്ങൾ—ശ്രേഷ്ഠ ദ്വിജന്മാർ പോലും ഭക്തിയോടെ സമർപ്പിച്ചിട്ടും—പ്രഭുവിന്റെ ഭയത്താൽ അഗ്നികൾ സ്വീകരിച്ചില്ല.

Speakers

• Narrator Pulastya; within the narration the personified Yajña speaks (implied soliloquy)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva, Madhuhā)
• Śiva (Maheśvara)
• Agni (sacrificial fire, implied by ‘jvalanāḥ’)

Key Themes

• Ritual theology: efficacy of yajña depends on cosmic order
• Personification of Yajña and Agni
• Fear/withdrawal of ritual fire as omen
• Shaiva–Vaishnava power dynamics (Śiva burns; Viṣṇu’s approach feared)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘Yajña’ portrayed as a being who can fear and speak?

Purāṇic style often personifies cosmic institutions (Yajña, Dharma, Earth) to dramatize metaphysical truths: sacrifice is not merely a human act but a cosmic principle that can be ‘disturbed’ when divine power manifests.

What does it mean that the fires ‘did not accept’ the oblations despite correct mantras?

It indicates a suspension of normal ritual causality: even properly performed Vedic procedure can fail when a higher divine intervention is imminent, underscoring that mantra-ritual works within, not above, the Lord’s sovereignty.

How should we read the reference to being ‘burned by Maheśvara’ and fearing Vāsudeva?

It evokes a prior episode where Śiva’s power overwhelms the sacrificial principle; the present fear suggests another overwhelming theophany. The juxtaposition highlights both Śiva’s and Viṣṇu’s supremacy in their respective modes, a common Purāṇic strategy to articulate sectarian unity through shared transcendence.