Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 52

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

तदुत्तष्ठस्व गच्छावः पुच्छावः क इमे स्थिते कन्यके अनुपश्ये हि पुण्करस्योत्तरे तटे

Transliteration

taduttaṣṭhasva gacchāvaḥ pucchāvaḥ ka ime sthite kanyake anupaśye hi puṇkarasyottare taṭe

Translation

Oleh itu, bangunlah; marilah kita pergi dan bertanya siapakah orang-orang ini yang berdiri di sini. Wahai anak dara, kerana aku melihat mereka di tebing utara Puṣkara.

Speakers

• First-person speaker addressing a ‘kanyā’ (maiden)
• proposing joint action (dual verbs) to inquire about those present.

Key Themes

• Sacred geography orientation (banks/directions)
• Inquiry into beings at a tīrtha
• Pilgrimage-space as populated by notable/hidden figures

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the ‘northern bank’ (uttara-taṭa) specified?

Directional markers are central to Purāṇic sacred geography. Different banks and quarters of a tīrtha can have distinct ritual valences, associated shrines, or narrative events; specifying ‘uttara’ helps map the episode onto the tīrtha’s internal topography.

What does the use of dual forms (gacchāvaḥ, pṛcchāvaḥ) indicate?

It grammatically confirms two participants acting together—here, the speaker and the maiden—highlighting companionship and shared witness in the tīrtha setting, a common motif in pilgrimage narratives.

What is Puṣkara in the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographical imagination?

Puṣkara is treated as a major tīrtha-locus (often centered on a lake), functioning as a node where sacred presence, ritual merit, and narrative encounters converge. Even when the broader chapter is narrative, the text anchors events to precise tīrtha coordinates like banks and directions.