Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 14

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

स समाराद्य वरदं ब्रह्माणं तपसासुरः अवध्यत्वं सुरैः सेन्द्रैः प्रार्थयत् स तु नारद

Transliteration

sa samārādya varadaṃ brahmāṇaṃ tapasāsuraḥ avadhyatvaṃ suraiḥ sendraiḥ prārthayat sa tu nārada

Translation

That Asura, having propitiated Brahmā—the granter of boons—by austerities, requested invulnerability from the gods, together with Indra; and so (it was), O Nārada.

Speakers

• Narrator to Nārada

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Indra

Key Themes

• Tapas (austerity) as power
• Boon economy in Purāṇic myth
• Asura ambition and cosmic imbalance
• Deva–Asura conflict framework

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why do Asuras repeatedly seek boons from Brahmā in Purāṇic narratives?

Brahmā functions as the archetypal ‘vara-da’ whose boons operationalize tapas into worldly power. This narrative device explains how non-divine or adversarial beings can temporarily surpass Devas, necessitating later restoration of dharma by higher divine agency.

What does ‘avadhyatvaṃ suraiḥ sa-indraiḥ’ precisely mean?

It means ‘not to be slain by the gods, including Indra.’ The phrase typically delineates a protection clause limited to a category (here, Devas), leaving open a loophole—death by another being/class or by a special divine stratagem.

Is Nārada a participant here or a listener?

In this passage Nārada is the addressed listener (vocative), indicating a dialogic frame where a narrator (often Pulastya or another sage in Purāṇic convention) recounts the episode to him.