Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

ततो धुन्धुर्देविकायाः प्राचीने पापनाशने भार्गवेन्द्रेण शुक्रेण वाजिमेधाय दीक्षितः

Transliteration

tato dhundhurdevikāyāḥ prācīne pāpanāśane bhārgavendreṇa śukreṇa vājimedhāya dīkṣitaḥ

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം ദേവികാ നദിയുടെ കിഴക്കുള്ള പാപനാശക തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ഭാർഗവശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ ശുക്രാചാര്യൻ ധുന്ധുവിനെ അശ്വമേധയാഗത്തിനായി ദീക്ഷിപ്പിച്ചു।

Speakers

• Narrator voice describing ritual proceedings; Śukra acts as officiating authority.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (contextual: Vāmana/Trivikrama)
• Shukra (as guru/ṛtvik figure, not a deity)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha sanctity
• Ritual consecration (dīkṣā)
• Aśvamedha
• Bhārgava lineage authority

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the Devikā, and why is it highlighted here?

Devikā is presented as a sacred river whose tīrtha is ‘pāpa-nāśana’ (sin-destroying). The Vāmana Purāṇa frequently anchors narratives in specific hydrological and tīrtha geographies, making the ritual’s location itself a source of merit and legitimacy.

What does ‘prācīne pāpanāśane’ imply—direction or a named tīrtha?

Grammatically it indicates an ‘eastern’ (prācīna) place characterized as ‘sin-destroying’ (pāpa-nāśana). In Purāṇic tīrtha-mapping, such epithets often function as quasi-proper names for specific fords/ghāṭas along a river.

Who is Dhundhu in this passage?

The verse treats Dhundhu as the person receiving dīkṣā for the Aśvamedha. Without additional surrounding verses, identification (e.g., whether a particular Daitya/associate) remains contextual; the key point is that Śukra formally initiates him at Devikā’s tīrtha, underscoring the rite’s orthoprax framing.