Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 38

Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच श्रुत्वा तद्भार्गववचो दैत्यराजो महामुने नेमिषै गन्तुकामस्तु दानवानितदब्रवीत्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca śrutvā tadbhārgavavaco daityarājo mahāmune nemiṣai gantukāmastu dānavānitadabravīt

Translation

പുലസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ മഹാമുനേ! ഭാർഗവന്റെ (ച്യവനന്റെ) വചനം കേട്ട് ദൈത്യരാജൻ നൈമിഷത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ച് ദാനവന്മാരോട് ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞു।

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive), ‘having heard’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; used adjectivally

• bhārgava-vacaḥ: Bhārgava’s words
• bhārgava-vacaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārgava + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘भार्गवस्य वचः’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• daityarājaḥ: king of the Daityas
• daityarājaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘दैत्यानां राजा’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahāmune: O great sage
• mahāmune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• naimiṣe: to/in Naimiṣa
• naimiṣe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naimiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; (reading from sandhi ‘nemiṣai’ → ‘naimiṣe’)

• gantukāmaḥ: desirous to go
• gantukāmaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उपपद: ‘गन्तुं कामः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; qualifies daityarājaḥ

• tu: then/indeed
• tu: Sambandha/Avyaya (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• dānavān: the Dānava (demon)
• dānavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; apposition to daityarājaḥ

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• abravīt: said/spoke
• abravīt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speakers

• Pulastya narrating; reported speech setup for the Daitya-king addressing Dānavas

Key Themes

• Dialogue Frame (reporting speech)
• Daitya–Sage Interaction
• Tīrtha-Māhātmya
• Pilgrimage Intention

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even Daityas are portrayed as responsive to śāstra-guided counsel and attracted to tīrtha-merit; the ethical implication is that access to purification is not strictly birth-bound but action- and intention-bound (karma/saṅkalpa).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This belongs to narrative transmission (ākhyāna) embedded in cosmography/tīrtha-kathā—adjacent to vamśānucarita insofar as Daitya line figures (e.g., Prahlāda) act within the sacred landscape.

What is the symbolic significance?

The Daitya-king’s wish to go to Naimiṣa symbolizes the gravitational pull of dharma: sacred space “tames” hostility by redirecting power toward ritual order and communal discipline.