Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 69

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

अन्धक उवाच अम्बिका जननी मह्यं भगवांस्त्र्यम्बकः पिता वन्दामि चरणौ मातुर्वन्दनीया ममाम्बिका

Transliteration

andhaka uvāca ambikā jananī mahyaṃ bhagavāṃstryambakaḥ pitā vandāmi caraṇau māturvandanīyā mamāmbikā

Translation

Andhaka said: “Ambikā is my mother; the Blessed Tryambaka is my father. I bow to the feet of my mother—my Ambikā is worthy of reverence.”

Speakers

• Andhaka speaking (to Śiva/Īśāna
• in the boon-dialogue context)

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Ambika (Parvati)

Key Themes

• Stuti as rhetorical strategy
• Claim of kinship with the divine
• Ambikā’s sanctity and reverence
• Irony/foreshadowing in Andhaka’s later conduct

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Andhaka call Ambikā his mother and Śiva his father?

Purāṇic narratives often frame demons as recipients of divine boons or as beings with complex origins tied to gods. Here, Andhaka’s ‘parentage’ language functions devotionally and strategically—he acknowledges their supremacy and seeks favor—while also setting up dramatic irony for his later violation of that reverence.

Is this a formal hymn (stuti) or a narrative statement?

It is a brief stuti-like declaration embedded in dialogue: it contains reverential markers (bhagavān, vandāmi, vandanīyā) but serves the immediate narrative purpose of positioning Ambikā as supremely venerable.

Any geographical markers in this śloka?

None. The content is relational/theological, without tirtha, river, or regional identifiers.