Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

ततो धुन्धुर्देविकायाः प्राचीने पापनाशने भार्गवेन्द्रेण शुक्रेण वाजिमेधाय दीक्षितः

Transliteration

tato dhundhurdevikāyāḥ prācīne pāpanāśane bhārgavendreṇa śukreṇa vājimedhāya dīkṣitaḥ

Translation

Then Dhundhu was consecrated for the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice) by Śukra—the foremost of the Bhārgavas—at the eastern, sin-destroying (tīrtha) of the Devikā (river).

Speakers

• Narrator voice describing ritual proceedings; Śukra acts as officiating authority.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (contextual: Vāmana/Trivikrama)
• Shukra (as guru/ṛtvik figure, not a deity)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha sanctity
• Ritual consecration (dīkṣā)
• Aśvamedha
• Bhārgava lineage authority

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the Devikā, and why is it highlighted here?

Devikā is presented as a sacred river whose tīrtha is ‘pāpa-nāśana’ (sin-destroying). The Vāmana Purāṇa frequently anchors narratives in specific hydrological and tīrtha geographies, making the ritual’s location itself a source of merit and legitimacy.

What does ‘prācīne pāpanāśane’ imply—direction or a named tīrtha?

Grammatically it indicates an ‘eastern’ (prācīna) place characterized as ‘sin-destroying’ (pāpa-nāśana). In Purāṇic tīrtha-mapping, such epithets often function as quasi-proper names for specific fords/ghāṭas along a river.

Who is Dhundhu in this passage?

The verse treats Dhundhu as the person receiving dīkṣā for the Aśvamedha. Without additional surrounding verses, identification (e.g., whether a particular Daitya/associate) remains contextual; the key point is that Śukra formally initiates him at Devikā’s tīrtha, underscoring the rite’s orthoprax framing.