Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 35

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

अमीषु षट्पु पुत्रेषु ऋमपिण्डधनक्रियाः गोत्रस्म्यं कुले वृत्तिः प्रतिष्ठ शाश्वती तथा

Transliteration

amīṣu ṣaṭpu putreṣu ṛmapiṇḍadhanakriyāḥ gotrasmyaṃ kule vṛttiḥ pratiṣṭha śāśvatī tathā

Translation

Dalam enam jenis anak ini, urusan mengenai hutang, persembahan piṇḍa bagi leluhur, dan harta hendaklah dilaksanakan; demikian juga identiti gotra dipelihara, kelangsungan adat/nafkah keluarga diteruskan, serta kedudukan mulia yang berkekalan (pratiṣṭhā) ditegakkan.

Word by Word

• अमीषु: among/in these
• अमीषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; ‘in these’

• षट्: six
• षट्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; (पुत्रेषु इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• पुत्रेषु: in the sons
• पुत्रेषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ऋण: debt
• ऋण: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (समासपूर्वपदम्)

• पिण्ड: funeral offering (piṇḍa)
• पिण्ड: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (समासपूर्वपदम्)

• धन: wealth
• धन: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (समासपूर्वपदम्)

• क्रियाः: rites/acts
• क्रियाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समस्तपद ‘ऋणपिण्डधनक्रियाः’ इत्यस्य उत्तरपदम्

• गोत्रस्म्यम्: continuity/identity of lineage (gotra)
• गोत्रस्म्यम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्र + स्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (गोत्रस्य स्म्यम्/स्मरणम्/सम्बन्धः)

• कुले: in the family
• कुले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वृत्तिः: maintenance/livelihood
• वृत्तिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रतिष्ठा: status/establishment
• प्रतिष्ठा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शाश्वती: everlasting
• शाश्वती: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (प्रतिष्ठा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• तथा: also/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपसंहारार्थ (also/likewise)

Speakers

• Brahmā to Nārada

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Nārada

Key Themes

• Ancestral rites (piṇḍa/śrāddha)
• Inheritance and property transmission
• Lineage continuity (gotra/kula)
• Social legitimacy and status (pratiṣṭhā)
• Dharma as social-ritual order

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the connection between ‘sons’ and piṇḍa rites in this verse?

In dharma frameworks, a son is a primary agent for continuing ancestral offerings (piṇḍa/śrāddha). The verse ties eligibility as ‘son’ to the capacity to discharge funerary obligations that sustain the ancestor line and its ritual welfare.

Why are ‘debt’ and ‘property’ mentioned alongside ritual duties?

The verse presents a unified model of continuity: ritual continuity (piṇḍa), legal-economic continuity (dhanakriyā/inheritance), and moral-social continuity (ṛṇa obligations, gotra/kula identity, pratiṣṭhā). Together they define what it means to sustain a lineage.

Does this passage indicate a geographic tīrtha context?

No. Despite the Vāmana Purāṇa’s strong geographic orientation elsewhere, these verses are a dharma-legal excursus focused on kinship categories and the mechanisms of lineage maintenance.