Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 39

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

न चानमलभद् ब्रह्मंस्ततः श्रान्तो ऽभवत् कविः स श्रन्तं वीक्ष्य चात्मानं नालभन्निर्गमं वशी भिक्तिनम्रो महादेवं शरणं समुपागम्

Transliteration

na cānamalabhad brahmaṃstataḥ śrānto 'bhavat kaviḥ sa śrantaṃ vīkṣya cātmānaṃ nālabhannirgamaṃ vaśī bhiktinamro mahādevaṃ śaraṇaṃ samupāgam

Translation

എന്നാൽ അവൻ ബ്രഹ്മത്തെ പ്രാപിച്ചില്ല; അതിനാൽ കവി-ഋഷി ക്ഷീണിതനായി. സ്വയം ക്ഷീണിതനെന്നു കണ്ടിട്ടും, ആത്മനിയന്ത്രണമുള്ളവനായിട്ടും, പുറത്തുകടക്കാനുള്ള മാർഗം കണ്ടെത്താനായില്ല. അപ്പോൾ ഭക്തിയാൽ നമ്രനായി മഹാദേവനെ ശരണമായി സമീപിച്ചു.

Speakers

• Narrative voice describing Bhargava’s inner turn toward Mahadeva

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Mahadeva)

Key Themes

• Limits of effort without grace
• Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge)
• Bhakti as resolution of spiritual impasse
• Shaiva orientation within a broader Purāṇic metaphysics

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the text say he ‘did not attain Brahman’ and then turns to Mahadeva?

The narrative models a common Purāṇic arc: strenuous seeking culminates in humility, and realization becomes linked to divine grace. Turning to Mahādeva is not presented as a ‘second-best’ but as the efficacious refuge that resolves the seeker’s blockage.

What does ‘nālabhan nirgamaṃ’ (‘found no exit’) imply?

It indicates an existential and soteriological impasse—despite discipline (vaśitva), the sage cannot cross the threshold by effort alone. The ‘exit’ is supplied through surrender and divine intervention in the subsequent narrative.

Is this verse evidence of Shaiva-Vaishnava unity or Shaiva supremacy?

From this excerpt alone, it primarily emphasizes Shaiva refuge (Mahādeva as śaraṇa). In many Purāṇic contexts, such passages coexist with broader unity-themes, but establishing that requires the surrounding chapters’ framing and any explicit identifications between Shiva and the supreme (Brahman/Vishnu).