Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 39
Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti
प्रह्लाद उवाच उत्तिष्ठध्वं गमिष्यामः स्नातुं तीर्थं हि नैमिषम् द्रक्ष्यामः पुण्डरीकाक्षं पीतवाससमच्युतम्
prahlāda uvāca uttiṣṭhadhvaṃ gamiṣyāmaḥ snātuṃ tīrthaṃ hi naimiṣam drakṣyāmaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ pītavāsasamacyutam
പ്രഹ്ലാദൻ പറഞ്ഞു— എഴുന്നേൽക്കുവിൻ; നൈമിഷ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യാൻ നാം പോകാം. പീതവസ്ത്രധാരിയായ, പദ്മനേത്രനായ, അച്യുതനായ പുണ്ഡരീകാക്ഷനെ നാം ദർശിക്കും।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Prahlāda models bhakti joined with ritual purity: tīrtha-snāna is not mere tourism but preparation for darśana (transformative encounter). The ethical lesson is leadership that directs a community toward purification and devotion.
It functions as narrative conduct (ācāra within ākhyāna) supporting dharma instruction; while not a direct sarga/pratisarga unit, it aligns with Purāṇic didactic narrative embedded in tīrtha-māhātmya sections.
A Daitya saint (Prahlāda) seeking Acyuta underscores the Purāṇic theme that devotion overrides factional identity. The epithets (lotus-eyed, yellow-robed) emphasize Viṣṇu’s auspicious accessibility as the goal of pilgrimage.