Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 39

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

विलपन्तं जनं दृष्ट्वा कृपा कस्य न जायते विशेषतः पतिं बाले ननुप त्वमतिनिर्घृणा

Transliteration

vilapantaṃ janaṃ dṛṣṭvā kṛpā kasya na jāyate viśeṣataḥ patiṃ bāle nanupa tvamatinirghṛṇā

Translation

Melihat seseorang meratap, siapakah yang tidak timbul belas kasihan? Lebih-lebih lagi melihat suamimu sendiri, wahai gadis muda—adakah engkau terlalu tidak berperikemanusiaan?

Word by Word

• vilapantam: lamenting
• vilapantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-lap (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय), परस्मैपदी; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• janam: a person / people
• janam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable)

• kṛpā: compassion
• kṛpā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛpā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• kasya: of whom
• kasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• jāyate: arises / is born
• jāyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे/कर्तरि (intransitive ‘arises’)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• patim: husband / lord
• patim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bāle: O girl / O young woman
• bāle: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• nanu: indeed / surely
• nanu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nanu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/confirmatory particle)

• api: even / also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: even/also)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ati-nirghṛṇā: excessively merciless
• ati-nirghṛṇā: Karta-pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + nirghṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपसर्गपूर्वक-विशेषण: अति + निर्घृणा)

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker rebuking a young woman for lack of compassion toward her husband (exact identities not provided in input).

Key Themes

• Dharma of compassion
• Householder ethics (gṛhastha-dharma)
• Reproach as moral instruction
• Emotional rhetoric in Purāṇic narrative

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Compassion is presented as a near-universal reflex of the virtuous; failure to respond to evident suffering—particularly within a protected relationship like marriage—is framed as adharma. The verse uses social ethics to shame callousness and restore empathy.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Again, narrative-ethical instruction within Vamśānucarita/ākhyāna style material, not a cosmological creation account. Purāṇas often embed dharma-teachings in emotional scenes to make norms memorable.

What is the symbolic significance?

Symbolically, ‘the lamenting husband’ can stand for the dependent soul (jīva) appealing to prakṛti/ego or to the beloved deity; the charge of ‘mercilessness’ critiques spiritual indifference—seeing suffering yet remaining unmoved.