Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 121

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

य एतत् परमं स्तोत्रं वासुदेवस्य मानवः पठष्यति स सर्वेभ्यः पापेभ्यो मोक्षमाप्स्यति

Transliteration

ya etat paramaṃ stotraṃ vāsudevasya mānavaḥ paṭhaṣyati sa sarvebhyaḥ pāpebhyo mokṣamāpsyati

Translation

जो मनुष्य वासुदेवाच्या या परम स्तोत्राचे पठण करील, तो सर्व पापांपासून मोक्ष प्राप्त करील।

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (phalaśruti conclusion to the stava)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Phalaśruti
• Sin-removal (pāpa-kṣaya)
• Bhakti through stotra-recitation
• Soteriology (mokṣa language)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does ‘mokṣa’ here mean final liberation or merely freedom from sin?

In many Purāṇic phalaśrutis, ‘mokṣa’ can be used in a graded sense: immediate ‘release’ from pāpa (sinic impediments) and, by extension, eligibility for higher spiritual attainment. The verse explicitly states ‘from all sins’ (sarvebhyaḥ pāpebhyaḥ), so the primary promise is pāpa-vimocana, with mokṣa as its culminating horizon.

Why is recitation (paṭha) treated as so powerful?

Stotra-recitation is framed as a disciplined act of bhakti and śruti-like remembrance. When the hymn is ‘samyak’ (correctly transmitted/uttered), it is believed to carry the potency of the deity praised (here Vāsudeva), functioning as both devotion and purification.

How does this relate to the Sarasvatī setting of the chapter?

Sarasvatī is the archetype of sanctified speech; thus, a Sarasvata hymn recited in a Sarasvatī-oriented tīrtha discourse naturally culminates in a speech-based merit claim. The geography-text dimension is that tīrtha power is accessed not only by travel but also by authorized narration and recitation.