Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Pilgrimage, Shloka 39

Prahlada’s Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Sudarshana–Trishula Exchange (Jalodbhava Episode)

Devanagari script

एतत् तवोक्तं परमं पवित्रं धन्यं यशस्यं शुभरूपदायि नक्षत्रपुंसः परमं विधानं शृणुष्व पुण्यामिह तीर्थयात्राम

Transliteration

etat tavoktaṃ paramaṃ pavitraṃ dhanyaṃ yaśasyaṃ śubharūpadāyi nakṣatrapuṃsaḥ paramaṃ vidhānaṃ śṛṇuṣva puṇyāmiha tīrthayātrāma

Translation

“This supreme teaching you have spoken is most purifying—auspicious, fortune-bringing, fame-bestowing, and a giver of auspicious form. Now hear the highest ordinance concerning the Nakṣatra-Puruṣa, and (hear also) here the meritorious pilgrimage to the tīrthas.”

Speakers

• Contextual continuation: narrator/teacher addressing a listener (explicit speaker not given in this verse; next chapter indicates Pulastya as speaker).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Janārdana)
• Nakṣatra-Puruṣa (personified cosmic principle)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage)
• Ritual ordinance (vidhāna)
• Purification and merit (pavitra/puṇya)
• Nakṣatra-related vrata/observance

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who or what is the ‘Nakṣatra-Puruṣa’ in this context?

Nakṣatra-Puruṣa is a ritual-cosmic personification of the nakṣatras (lunar mansions). Texts that teach nakṣatra-vratas often frame them as worship of a unified ‘person’ embodying the stellar divisions, linking calendrical time, bodily symbolism, and merit-producing observances.

Why does the verse pair ‘Nakṣatra-Puruṣa ordinance’ with ‘tīrtha-yātrā’?

The pairing is typical of Purāṇic dharma sections: time-based merit (vrata tied to lunar/stellar calendrics) is complemented by place-based merit (tīrtha). Together they present a complete soteriological map—right timing and right location—both yielding purification and auspicious transformation.

What does ‘śubharūpadāyin’ imply beyond physical beauty?

In Purāṇic idiom, ‘auspicious form’ can include health, radiance (tejas), social esteem, and even a refined spiritual disposition. It signals that the practice is believed to reshape both outer fortune and inner character.