Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 23
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
भ्रामयन्तं महादण्डं दृष्ट्वा भानुसुतो मुने दुःसहं दुर्धरं मत्वा अन्तर्धानमगाद् यमः
bhrāmayantaṃ mahādaṇḍaṃ dṛṣṭvā bhānusuto mune duḥsahaṃ durdharaṃ matvā antardhānamagād yamaḥ
ഹേ മുനേ! മഹാദണ്ഡം ചുഴറ്റപ്പെടുന്നതു കണ്ട ഭാനുപുത്രനായ യമൻ അതിനെ അസഹ്യവും ദുർധരവും എന്നു കരുതി അന്തർധാനം പ്രാപിച്ചു।
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FAQs
The episode dramatizes that even cosmic regulators (like Yama) may withdraw in specific narrative moments; Purāṇic ethics often uses such reversals to show that power without dharma can create temporary disorder, yet does not negate the eventual reassertion of cosmic law.
This belongs to vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna-style mythic history: an action beat in a conflict narrative involving a deva figure (Yama) and an asuric antagonist (Andhaka).
Yama’s ‘antardhāna’ signifies a momentary eclipse of juridical/moral restraint (daṇḍa in the sense of punishment) by violent force (daṇḍa as weapon). The doubled sense of daṇḍa underscores the tension between rightful punishment and mere weaponized domination.