Vamana Purana — Prahlada vs Nara-Narayana, Shloka 55
Prahlada’s Defeat by Nara-Narayana and Victory through Bhakti
छिन्नान् समीक्ष्याथ नरः पृषत्कान् दैत्येश्वरेणाप्रतिमेव संख्ये क्रुद्धः समानम्य महाधनुस्ततो मुमोच चान्यान् विविधान् पृषत्कान्
chinnān samīkṣyātha naraḥ pṛṣatkān daityeśvareṇāpratimeva saṃkhye kruddhaḥ samānamya mahādhanustato mumoca cānyān vividhān pṛṣatkān
Kemudian Nara, setelah melihat anak panahnya dipatahkan oleh penguasa kaum Daitya dalam pertempuran yang tiada bandingan itu, menjadi murka; lalu melentur busur besarnya dan melepaskan anak panah lain yang beraneka jenis.
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FAQs
The verse foregrounds steadiness under reversal: when one’s effort is thwarted (arrows being cut down), the response is renewed exertion and focus. In Purāṇic martial ethics, anger (krodha) is depicted as a battlefield catalyst, yet it is disciplined through skill (stringing and bending the great bow) rather than reckless violence.
This belongs primarily to Vaṃśānucarita/Carita-type narration (heroic deeds within a storyline), rather than sarga/pratisarga. It is episodic battlefield description embedded in the broader dynastic and divine narrative flow.
The cutting of arrows and their re-release can symbolize the contest between opposing forces of dharma and adharma as a test of resolve. Nara’s ‘great bow’ functions as a conventional emblem of concentrated will (icchā-śakti) and trained power (bala) redirected after obstruction.