Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 36

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

आमन्त्र्यन्तां च ऋषयः प्रयामो देविकाटतम् सा हि पुण्या सरिच्छ्रेष्ठ सर्वसिद्धिकरी शुभा स्थानं प्राचीनमासाद्य वाजिसेधान् यजामहे

Transliteration

āmantryantāṃ ca ṛṣayaḥ prayāmo devikāṭatam sā hi puṇyā saricchreṣṭha sarvasiddhikarī śubhā sthānaṃ prācīnamāsādya vājisedhān yajāmahe

Translation

ഋഷിമാരെയും ക്ഷണിക്കപ്പെടട്ടെ. നാം ദേവികാ നദീതീരത്തേക്കു പുറപ്പെടാം. അവൾ പുണ്യവതി—നദികളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ—ശുഭകരി, സർവ്വസിദ്ധി നൽകുന്നവൾ. പ്രാചീന പുണ്യസ്ഥാനത്തെത്തി നാം അശ്വമേധയജ്ഞങ്ങൾ നടത്താം.

Speakers

• Unspecified in the excerpt; same leader instructing the group
• now explicitly directing sages and the destination.

Primary Deities

• Devikā (river as sacred power)
• Vishnu
• Agni

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-māhātmya (river praise)
• Pilgrimage to riverbank for ritual efficacy
• Sage participation legitimizing rites
• Siddhi and auspiciousness through sacred geography
• Royal yajña performed at a tīrtha

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the significance of performing Aśvamedha at the Devikā’s bank?

Purāṇic geography frequently teaches that location amplifies ritual merit. By situating a royal śrauta rite at a praised river-tīrtha, the narrative fuses political sovereignty (Aśvamedha) with tīrtha-generated puṇya, presenting the Devikā as a catalyst for ‘sarva-siddhi’ (complete success).

How should we understand ‘sarva-siddhi-karī’ for a river?

Rivers in Purāṇic discourse are not merely physical waterways; they are sacral agents. ‘Sarva-siddhi-karī’ indicates that bathing, offerings, vows, and major rites performed there are believed to yield comprehensive attainments—ritual success, prosperity, purification, and sometimes yogic/boon-like ‘siddhis’ in a broad sense.

What is meant by ‘sthānaṃ prācīnam’ here?

The phrase marks a specific sacred ‘place’ characterized as ‘eastern’ (prācīna). Even when unnamed in a snippet, such directional tagging is typical of tīrtha catalogues: it anchors the Devikā-tīrtha within a mapped sacred landscape, guiding pilgrims to a recognized locus on or near the riverbank where rites are ideally performed.