Shloka 20

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

विश्वेदेवा कटीभागे मरुतो वस्तिशीर्षगाः लिङ्गे स्थितो मन्मथश्च वृषणाभ्यां प्रजापतिः

Transliteration

viśvedevā kaṭībhāge maruto vastiśīrṣagāḥ liṅge sthito manmathaśca vṛṣaṇābhyāṃ prajāpatiḥ

Translation

കടി പ്രദേശത്ത് വിശ്വേദേവന്മാർ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു; വസ്തിശീർഷത്തിൽ മരുത്തുകൾ. ലിംഗത്തിൽ മന്മഥൻ (കാമദേവൻ) അധിഷ്ഠിതൻ; വൃഷണദ്വയത്തിൽ പ്രജാപതി സ്ഥിത/പ്രകടമാണ്.

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (likely a narrator/ṛṣi continuing the mapping).

Primary Deities

• Viśvedevas
• Maruts
• Manmatha (Kāma)
• Prajāpati

Key Themes

• Cosmic physiology as theological map
• Procreation and cosmic creation
• Deva-classes and their functional symbolism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Manmatha and Prajāpati associated with the generative organs?

The mapping is functional-symbolic: Manmatha embodies desire that initiates procreation, while Prajāpati represents generative lordship/creation. Placing them in the reproductive anatomy encodes a cosmological claim that creation proceeds through desire and generative power.

Who are the Viśvedevas, and why are they placed at the hips?

The Viśvedevas are a collective group of deities invoked in Vedic ritual. The hip/waist region is a locus of bodily balance and support; symbolically, the ‘All-Gods’ stabilize and uphold the cosmic person, paralleling their role as comprehensive divine witnesses in ritual.

What does ‘Maruts at the head of the bladder’ signify?

Maruts are wind/storm deities; their placement near an organ associated with internal ‘flows’ can be read as a physiological metaphor for vital airs (vāyus) governing bodily functions. It also continues the Purāṇic habit of distributing deities according to perceived functional correspondences.