Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 70

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

संस्पृश्यापः सरस्वत्यां स्नात्वा च विधिना हरः कृतार्थो भक्तिमान् मूर्ध्ना पुष्पाञ्जलिमुपाक्षिपत्

Transliteration

saṃspṛśyāpaḥ sarasvatyāṃ snātvā ca vidhinā haraḥ kṛtārtho bhaktimān mūrdhnā puṣpāñjalimupākṣipat

Translation

सरस्वतीत जल स्पर्श करून आणि विधिपूर्वक स्नान करून, हर (शिव) कृतार्थ व भक्तिभावाने मस्तकावर उचलून पुष्पांजली अर्पण करू लागले।

Speakers

• Narrator voice describing Śiva’s rite in the course of the narrative.

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Hara)
• Sarasvatī (river-deity, implicit through the river name)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-snāna (sacred bathing)
• Ritual correctness (vidhi)
• Devotion expressed through offering (puṣpāñjali)
• Purification and empowerment before divine action

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the Sarasvatī singled out here?

In Purāṇic geography, Sarasvatī is a premier sacred river associated with purification, Vedic memory, and tīrtha networks. Placing Śiva’s rite at Sarasvatī sacralizes the narrative action and anchors it in a recognizable pilgrimage landscape.

What does ‘mūrdhnā puṣpāñjalim’ convey ritually?

Lifting the flower-offering to the head marks reverence and self-surrender: the offering is not merely placed but honored as a sacred act. It signals bhakti combined with correct procedure (vidhi).

Is this verse teaching a general practice or narrating a unique event?

Both: it narrates Śiva’s specific act, while also modeling an idealized sequence—touching water, bathing, and offering—typical of tīrtha observance before major vows, battles, or divine manifestations.