Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Pilgrimage, Shloka 31

Prahlada’s Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Sudarshana–Trishula Exchange (Jalodbhava Episode)

Devanagari script

अङ्गोपाङ्गानि देवर्षे पूजयित्वा जगद्गुरोः सुरूपाम्यभिजायन्ते प्रत्यङ्गङ्गानि चैव हि

Transliteration

aṅgopāṅgāni devarṣe pūjayitvā jagadguroḥ surūpāmyabhijāyante pratyaṅgaṅgāni caiva hi

Translation

O Devarṣi, having worshipped the limbs and subsidiary limbs of the Guru of the world, one’s own limbs and sub-limbs indeed become well-formed and excellent in appearance.

Speakers

• Rishi-narrator addressing Devarṣi (likely Nārada)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Jagadguru/Keśava)

Key Themes

• Ritual anatomy (aṅga-upāṅga worship)
• Karmic fruition as bodily excellence
• Devotional reciprocity (worship of divine body → refinement of human body)
• Vrata phala (benefit)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the text emphasize worship of the Lord’s “limbs and sub-limbs”?

In Nakṣatra-Puruṣa style observances, the cosmos and the deity are contemplated as an integrated body. Limb-wise worship trains attention, purity, and completeness (pūrṇatā), making the devotee’s own embodied life a mirror of cosmic order.

Is the “well-formed body” result literal or symbolic?

Purāṇic vrata-phala is often both: literally, it promises health/beauty as karmic fruit; symbolically, it indicates harmonization of one’s faculties (indriyas) and capacities through disciplined devotion.

Who is “Jagadguru” here—Vishnu or another deity?

Within this passage’s flow (culminating in “Keśava” in the next verse), “Jagadguru” is best read as Vishnu/Keśava, praised as the supreme instructor whose worship grants purification and auspicious embodiment.