Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 65

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

यो ऽप्यन्यदेवताभक्तो मिथ्यार्चयति केशवम् सो/ऽपि गच्छति साधूनां स्थानं पुण्यकृतां महत्

Transliteration

yo 'pyanyadevatābhakto mithyārcayati keśavam so/'pi gacchati sādhūnāṃ sthānaṃ puṇyakṛtāṃ mahat

Translation

जो मनुष्य अन्य देवतेचा भक्त असूनही केशवाची भ्रमवश किंवा अनुचित रीतीने पूजा करतो, तोही पुण्यकर्म करणाऱ्या साधूंच्या महान स्थानास प्राप्त होतो।

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (didactic continuation in Adhyāya 67)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Other Deities (implied by anya-devatā)

Key Themes

• Purāṇic inclusivism (accommodating other-devatā devotion)
• Efficacy of Viṣṇu-worship even when imperfect
• Merit and moral-spiritual destination (sādhūnāṃ sthāna)
• Keśava as universal refuge

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘mithyārcayati’ imply—wrong worship or insincere worship?

Mithyā can indicate ‘mistaken/incorrect’ (procedurally or doctrinally) rather than deliberately deceitful. The verse’s thrust is generous: even imperfect or confused worship directed to Keśava yields an exalted result.

How can someone devoted to another deity still benefit from worshiping Keśava?

Purāṇic theology often treats Viṣṇu as a supreme recipient or inner ground of worship; thus, any genuine act of reverence toward Keśava—however secondary in one’s practice—connects the devotee to a higher salvific trajectory.

Is ‘sādhūnāṃ sthāna’ a specific place like Vaikuṇṭha?

Here it is a qualitative designation—‘the abode/state of the virtuous’—rather than a named loka. In context it functions as a promise of elevated post-mortem destiny aligned with puṇya and devotion.