Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 59

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

Devanagari script

वकारं कवचं विद्यात् कन्या तत्र प्रतिषिठता मासश्चाश्वयुजो नाम ष्ष्ठं तत् पत्रकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

vakāraṃ kavacaṃ vidyāt kanyā tatra pratiṣiṭhatā māsaścāśvayujo nāma ṣṣṭhaṃ tat patrakaṃ smṛtam

Translation

Hendaklah difahami suku kata “va” sebagai kavaca, yakni perisai/selubung pelindung; di sana Perawan (Kanyā) ditegakkan. Bulan itu bernama Āśvayuja (Āśvina), dan itulah yang diingati sebagai “patraka” yang keenam (helaian/segmen).

Word by Word

• वकारम्: the letter ‘va’
• वकारम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘व’ इति वर्णः

• कवचम्: armor
• कवचम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विद्यात्: should know
• विद्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘should know/should understand’

• कन्या: Virgo (maiden sign)
• कन्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• प्रतिष्ठिता: is established
• प्रतिष्ठिता: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → प्रतिष्ठित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘established/placed’

• मासः: month
• मासः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• आश्वयुजः: Āśvayuja (Āśvina)
• आश्वयुजः: Viśeṣya-nāma (विशेष्य-नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्वयुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मास-नाम

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक (particle: ‘by name/called’)

• षष्ठम्: sixth
• षष्ठम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पत्रकम्: petal/leaflet
• पत्रकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे—‘is remembered’

Speakers

• Not specified in the given excerpt (continuation of the chapter’s narrator-to-listener discourse).

Key Themes

• Protective symbolism (kavaca) via phoneme mapping
• Jyotiṣa: Virgo (Kanyā) and Āśvina
• Structured ‘patraka’ segmentation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is meant by calling “va” a kavaca (armor)?

Kavaca denotes a protective sheath—ritually, it can imply that the mapped locus is guarded or empowered. In such schemata, syllables are not merely phonetic units but carriers of protective and sacral potency.

Is “Kanyā” a person or an astrological sign?

In this context it is the rāśi Virgo (Kanyā), paired with the month Āśvina and a functional body-symbol (kavaca), indicating an astrological-cosmological placement.

Why do these verses contain no rivers or tīrthas if the Vāmana Purāṇa is geography-focused?

The Vāmana Purāṇa includes extensive tīrtha and regional material, but it also preserves cosmological and ritual-structural passages. This subsection is a schematic mapping and therefore does not necessarily name geographic features.