Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 76

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

साप्ययब्रवीद् दिवा व्याघ्र लोको ऽयं परिपश्यति रात्रावुद्घाटयिष्याम ततो रंस्याव स्वेच्छया

Transliteration

sāpyayabravīd divā vyāghra loko 'yaṃ paripaśyati rātrāvudghāṭayiṣyāma tato raṃsyāva svecchayā

Translation

{"scene_description": "A sacred map with three focal shrines: Māhiṣmatī city-ghāṭa with Śiva (three-eyed) and a blazing Agni altar; Arbuda mountain with a deity titled Tri-sauparṇa (render with three Garuḍa/wing motifs or a triple-bird emblem); Sūkarācala hill with Kṣmādhara (earth-bearer) shown as Viṣṇu’s Varāha-associated strength or a mountain-bearing figure.", "primary_figures": ["Śiva (Trinayana)", "Agni (Hutāśana)", "Tri-sauparṇa (localized form)", "Kṣmādhara (earth-bearer form)", "pilgrims/ṛṣis"], "setting": "City by river, mountain peak, and forested hill—composite pilgrimage panorama.", "color_palette": ["ash grey", "flame orange", "mountain ochre", "emerald green", "gold"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore composite: Māhiṣmatī panel with Trinayana Śiva under gold arch and adjacent Agni kuṇḍa with flames; Arbuda panel with mountain shrine and Tri-sauparṇa emblem (three-winged Garuḍa motif) in gold; Sūkarācala panel with Kṣmādhara as powerful earth-bearer/Varāha-associated icon; heavy jewelry, embossed halos, rich reds and greens.", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature landscape: river-city Māhiṣmatī with small Śiva temple and fire altar; distant Arbuda mountain with a triple-bird banner; Sūkarācala hill with boar-associated shrine; soft pastels, fine pilgrims walking paths.", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural frieze: Śiva with three eyes and Agni flames stylized; Arbuda mountain with emblematic Tri-sauparṇa; Kṣmādhara rendered with strong stance and earth motifs; bold outlines, temple border ornaments.", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra scroll: sequential frames—Trinayana Śiva, Hutāśana fire altar, Arbuda with Tri-sauparṇa banner, Sūkarācala with Kṣmādhara; flat colors, patterned flames and mountains, decorative borders."}

Speakers

• Narrative voice (a male protagonist) reporting the woman’s speech; addressed to a sage (mune) in the surrounding frame.

Key Themes

• Secrecy and social surveillance (loka-paripaśyati)
• Nocturnal timing motif in narrative episodes
• Moral tension/temptation setting (implicit)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the speaker emphasize “by day the world is watching” (divā… lokaḥ paripaśyati)?

It signals the social-ethical frame typical of Purāṇic storytelling: actions are constrained by public scrutiny (loka), while night becomes the liminal time for concealed acts. This contrast often foreshadows either a transgression or a test of restraint.

What does vyāghra mean here—an actual tiger?

No. In vocative usage, vyāghra commonly functions as an honorific for a man—‘tiger among men,’ i.e., a brave or eminent person.

Does this verse contain any tīrtha or geographic marker typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not in this śloka. The verse is purely dialogic; any geographic anchoring (river, lake, forest, tīrtha) would have to be drawn from adjacent verses in the chapter.