Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 49

Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology

Devanagari script

स तद् वसिष्ठवचनं निशम्य दनुपुङ्गवः जगाम धर्मराजानं विजेतुं दण्डपाणिनम्

Transliteration

sa tad vasiṣṭhavacanaṃ niśamya danupuṅgavaḥ jagāma dharmarājānaṃ vijetuṃ daṇḍapāṇinam

Translation

वसिष्ठांचे ते वचन ऐकून दानवश्रेष्ठ (बळी) दंडधारी धर्मराज यमाला जिंकण्यासाठी निघाला.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वसिष्ठ-वचनम्: Vasiṣṭha’s words
• वसिष्ठ-वचनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ + वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वसिष्ठस्य वचनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• निशम्य: having heard
• निशम्य: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-शम् (धातु) → निशम्य (क्त्वा/ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having heard/considered’

• दनु-पुङ्गवः: bull among the Danus (chief Dānava)
• दनु-पुङ्गवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दनु + पुङ्गव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दनूनां पुङ्गवः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• धर्मराजानम्: Dharmarāja (Yama)
• धर्मराजानम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धर्मस्य राजा); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विजेतुम्: to conquer
• विजेतुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-जि (धातु) → विजेतुम् (तुमुन्)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive): ‘to conquer’

• दण्डपाणिनम्: the staff-in-handed one
• दण्डपाणिनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास: ‘whose hand holds a staff’; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; धर्मराजस्य विशेषण

Speakers

• Narrator voice (Purāṇic narrator) describing Bali’s response to Vasiṣṭha’s counsel

Primary Deities

• Yama (Dharmarāja)

Key Themes

• Hubris and overreach of Asuric power
• Dharma as cosmic governance (Yama as judge)
• Inevitability of moral order confronting force

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is Yama called Dharmarāja and daṇḍapāṇi in this context?

Dharmarāja emphasizes Yama’s role as the sovereign administrator of moral law, while daṇḍapāṇi (‘staff in hand’) highlights punitive authority—he is not merely a deity of death but the enforcer of dharma through judgment and consequence.

What does Bali’s intent ‘to conquer Yama’ signify mythologically?

It signals extreme Asuric ambition: attempting to subdue the very principle of retributive justice. Such episodes typically foreshadow divine intervention and the reassertion of cosmic balance.