Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 50

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

तां वाणीं मधुरां श्रुत्वा मोहमस्म्यागता ततः न च जाने स केनापि वृक्षश्छिन्नः सहस्रधा

Transliteration

tāṃ vāṇīṃ madhurāṃ śrutvā mohamasmyāgatā tataḥ na ca jāne sa kenāpi vṛkṣaśchinnaḥ sahasradhā

Translation

ती मधुर वाणी ऐकून मी तेव्हा मोहग्रस्त झाले; आणि तो वृक्ष कोणीतरी सहस्रधा कापला—हे मला कळले नाही.

Speakers

• Unspecified narrator/character speaking in first person (within the Puṣkara episode) to an addressed listener (implied interlocutor).

Key Themes

• Moha (bewilderment)
• Marvel/auspicious voice as narrative trigger
• Unseen agency (adṛṣṭa) and miraculous occurrence

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse emphasize ‘sweet voice’ (madhurā vāṇī) as the cause of moha?

In Purāṇic narrative technique, an extraordinary voice often signals a liminal or divine/otherworldly presence. The ‘sweetness’ draws the mind outward, and the resulting moha marks the speaker’s loss of ordinary perception—preparing for a revelation, a test, or a tīrtha-related wonder.

What is implied by ‘I do not know by whom the tree was cut’ (na ca jāne sa kenāpi)?

The unknown agent suggests adṛṣṭa-kāraṇa—an unseen cause—commonly used to indicate divine intervention, a yakṣa/gandharva-like agency, or the mysterious power (śakti) of the sacred place itself.

Is ‘cut into a thousand pieces’ literal or conventional?

Sahasradhā is frequently hyperbolic, conveying total destruction or extreme fragmentation. Whether literal or not, it functions to heighten the sense of wonder and to underscore that ordinary causality is suspended in the episode.