Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 43
The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa
राक्षस उवाच षष्ठे काले त्वमाहारः क्षुधितस्य समागतः निःश्रीकस्यातिपापस्य निर्घृणस्य द्विजद्रुहः
rākṣasa uvāca ṣaṣṭhe kāle tvamāhāraḥ kṣudhitasya samāgataḥ niḥśrīkasyātipāpasya nirghṛṇasya dvijadruhaḥ
[{"question": "Why is the elephant compared to Airāvata in a tirtha narrative?", "answer": "Airāvata functions as the archetype of royal/auspicious elephants. The comparison elevates the animal’s stature and signals that the coming event is not ordinary but worthy of Purāṇic attention within a sacred-geography frame."}, {"question": "What does “añjana-saṃkāśa” convey here?", "answer": "Añjana is a dark cosmetic (collyrium). The phrase indicates a deep black coloration, a conventional poetic marker for power and intensity, reinforcing the elephant’s formidable presence."}, {"question": "How does this verse serve the larger tirtha-mahātmya style?", "answer": "Māhātmyas often begin with vivid scene-setting—landscape and beings—before a moral or miraculous turn. The musth-scent and mountain imagery establish a charged atmosphere leading into the water-episode."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Śrī signifies prosperity, auspiciousness, and divine radiance (often personified as Lakṣmī). Calling himself niḥśrīka implies moral-spiritual deprivation: his cruelty has driven away auspiciousness and merit, not merely material wealth.
Literally “on the sixth occasion/time.” In Purāṇic storytelling, such time-counts can indicate a recurring pattern (e.g., periodic feeding, a vow, or a destined cycle). Without surrounding verses, it is best read as a narrative cue that this is not the first such event.
Harming the twice-born—especially Brāhmaṇas—is a paradigmatic transgression in dharma literature. The rākṣasa’s identity is defined by this hostility, heightening the ethical stakes and foreshadowing consequences (punishment, curse, or reversal).