Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 8

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

ततो माधवकन्दर्पौ ताश्चैवाप्सरसो वराः बदर्याश्रममागम्य विचिक्रीडुर्यथेच्छया

Transliteration

tato mādhavakandarpau tāścaivāpsaraso varāḥ badaryāśramamāgamya vicikrīḍuryathecchayā

Translation

त्यानंतर माधव व कंदर्प आणि त्या श्रेष्ठ अप्सरा बदर्याश्रमास येऊन तेथे इच्छेनुसार क्रीडा करू लागले।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence/time

• mādhava-kandarpau: Mādhava and Kandarpa
• mādhava-kandarpau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava + kandarpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Dual (द्विवचन); dvandva compound naming two persons

• tāḥ: they (those women)
• tāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle (निपात)

• apsarasaḥ: Apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• apsarasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन)

• varāḥ: excellent, choice
• varāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग) usage, Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying apsarasaḥ

• badarī-āśramam: to the Badarī hermitage
• badarī-āśramam: Karma (कर्म) / Gati-Karma (गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: badarī + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘badaryāḥ āśramaḥ’

• āgamya: having come
• āgamya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + gam (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), ‘having come/arrived’

• vicikrīḍuḥ: they played/sported
• vicikrīḍuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Plural (बहुवचन)

• yathā-icchayā: as they wished / at will
• yathā-icchayā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā + icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound functioning adverbially; instrumental sense ‘according to desire’

Speakers

• Narrative layer not explicit in the given verse-set; commonly Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa framing

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Mādhava)
• Kāma (Kandarpā)

Key Themes

• Sacred geography
• Āśrama milieu
• Seasonal/poetic description
• Divine play (līlā)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even in a sacred hermitage, the text depicts the presence of powerful aesthetic forces (love, beauty, play). The implicit lesson is discernment: the āśrama is a testing-ground where allure may appear, and steadiness of mind is required for tapas and dharma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classified under Vamśānucarita/Carita-style narration (episodic descriptive narrative around sacred places and divine figures), rather than sarga/pratisarga (cosmogony) or manvantara.

What is the symbolic significance?

Mādhava (divine order/preservation) alongside Kandarpā (desire) signals the Purāṇic view that kāma is a cosmic principle that must be harmonized with dharma—especially in pilgrimage/āśrama settings where inner discipline is central.