Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 11

Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

आजघान तलेनेभं कुम्भमध्ये पदा करे जानुना च समाहत्य विषाणं प्रबभञ्ज च / 10.10 वाममुष्ट्या तथा पार्श्वं समाहत्यान्धकस्त्वरन् गजेन्द्रं पातयामास प्रहारैर्जर्जरीकृतम्

Transliteration

ājaghāna talenebhaṃ kumbhamadhye padā kare jānunā ca samāhatya viṣāṇaṃ prababhañja ca / 10.10 vāmamuṣṭyā tathā pārśvaṃ samāhatyāndhakastvaran gajendraṃ pātayāmāsa prahārairjarjarīkṛtam

Translation

अंधकाने गजेन्द्राच्या कुम्भस्थळाच्या मध्यावर तळहाताने प्रहार केला; पाय, हात व गुडघ्यानेही मारून त्याचा दात मोडला. नंतर डाव्या मुष्टीने पार्श्वावर प्रहार करून, अनेक घावांनी जर्जर झालेल्या त्या गजराजाला पाडून दिले।

Word by Word

• ājaghāna: struck
• ājaghāna: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√han (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• talena: with the palm (of the hand)
• talena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ibham: elephant
• ibham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kumbha-madhye: in the middle of the temple/forehead (kumbha)
• kumbha-madhye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbha (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• padā: with the foot
• padā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kare: on the hand
• kare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• jānunā: with the knee
• jānunā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय

• samāhatya: having struck hard
• samāhatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√han (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• viṣāṇam: tusk/horn
• viṣāṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prababhañja: broke
• prababhañja: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√bhañj (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय

• vāma-muṣṭyā: with the left fist
• vāma-muṣṭyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + muṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘left fist’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• pārśvam: side/flank
• pārśvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• samāhatya: having struck hard
• samāhatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√han (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• andhakaḥ: Andhaka
• andhakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: andhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tvaran: hastening
• tvaran: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √tvar (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषणम्

• gajendram: lordly elephant
• gajendram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘lord of elephants’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pātayāmāsa: felled / made fall
• pātayāmāsa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pat (धातु) causative √pātaya
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• prahāraiḥ: with blows
• prahāraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prahāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jarjarī-kṛtam: smashed to pieces / battered
• jarjarī-kṛtam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarjarī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (adverbial qualifier + past participle), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘gajendram’ इति विशेषणम्

Speakers

• Not explicit in the provided excerpt (frame dialogue not recoverable from these verses alone)

Primary Deities

• Andhaka
• Indra (implied via his elephant mount, often Airāvata, though not named here)

Key Themes

• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Battle with divine mount
• Violence and domination imagery

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic battle scenes often stress that adharma can display terrifying effectiveness (even against symbols of royal/divine power like the elephant-king), but such force is narratively framed as ultimately self-defeating when set against cosmic order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Vamśānucarita / narrative episode (deva–daitya struggle) rather than cosmogenesis; it contributes to the Purāṇic historical-mythic account of conflicts among exalted beings.

What is the symbolic significance?

The elephant-king functions as a sign of sovereignty and stable rule (aiśvarya). Its battering and fall dramatize a temporary eclipse of orderly kingship by chaotic power—an image that typically prepares the way for restoration through divine alignment (often via a higher deity’s intervention later in the arc).