Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 50

Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

तेषु नित्यं प्रपूज्यन्ते यतयो ब्रह्मचारिणः श्रोत्रिया ज्ञानसम्पन्ना दीनान्धविकलादयः

Transliteration

teṣu nityaṃ prapūjyante yatayo brahmacāriṇaḥ śrotriyā jñānasampannā dīnāndhavikalādayaḥ

Translation

In those places, ascetics and brahmacārins are honored every day; likewise learned Vedic scholars and those endowed with knowledge, as well as the poor, the blind, the disabled, and others.

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (normative description of conduct at the sacred site).

Key Themes

• Dana (Charity)
• Atithi-sevā (hospitality)
• Support of ascetics and Vedic learning
• Compassion toward the vulnerable
• Tirtha ethics

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are ascetics, brahmacārins, and śrotriyas singled out for daily honor?

Tīrtha-dharma integrates worship with social-religious support. Yatis and brahmacārins represent renunciation and disciplined learning; śrotriyas preserve Vedic transmission. Honoring them sustains dharma as a living institution at the pilgrimage center.

What is the role of the poor, blind, and disabled in this verse’s teaching?

The verse explicitly expands sacred hospitality beyond elite religious recipients to include vulnerable groups (dīna, andha, vikala). This frames the tīrtha as a place where compassion and redistribution are integral to sanctity, not optional charity.

Does ‘prapūjyante’ mean literal worship of people?

In Purāṇic usage, prapūjā here means respectful reception and honoring—offering food, shelter, gifts, and reverence—treating worthy guests and dependents as embodiments of dharma, rather than deifying them in a doctrinal sense.