Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 5

Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणो मध्यतो देहाञ्जातो मरकतप्रभः ख दरः कण्टकी श्रेयानभवद्विश्वकर्मणः

Transliteration

brahmaṇo madhyato dehāñjāto marakataprabhaḥ kha daraḥ kaṇṭakī śreyānabhavadviśvakarmaṇaḥ

Translation

ဗြဟ္မာ၏ ကိုယ်ခန္ဓာ အလယ်ပိုင်းမှ မရကတကဲ့သို့ တောက်ပသော ခဒိရ (khadira) သစ်ပင် ပေါက်ဖွားလာ၏။ ထိုသစ်ပင်သည် ဆူးများရှိပြီး၊ ဗိශ්ဝကರ್ಮန်အတွက် အထူးကောင်းမြတ်သော သစ်အဖြစ် ဖြစ်လာ하였다။

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā / of Brahman
• ब्रह्मणः: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• मध्यतः: from the middle
• मध्यतः: अपादान (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त), adverb of place — ‘from the middle’

• देहान्: bodies
• देहान्: कर्म (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Accusative plural

• जातः: was born/was produced
• जातः: कर्ता (कर्ता/Subject, predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘born/produced’ (past passive participle used predicatively)

• मरकत-प्रभः: emerald-lustrous
• मरकत-प्रभः: विशेषण (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मरकत (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मरकतस्य प्रभा इव/मरकतप्रभः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• खदरः: the khadira tree (Acacia catechu)
• खदरः: कर्ता (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• कण्टकी: thorny
• कण्टकी: विशेषण (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कण्टकिन्/कण्टकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; ‘thorny’

• श्रेयान्: better, superior
• श्रेयान्: विशेषण (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; comparative (तरप्-अर्थ) ‘better/superior’

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: क्रिया (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘became/was’

• विश्वकर्मणः: of Viśvakarman
• विश्वकर्मणः: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — Genitive singular

Speakers

• Not specified in input (often Pulastya → Nārada frame
• not asserted here)

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Viśvakarman

Key Themes

• Purāṇic etiologies (origins of sacred materials)
• Ritual materials / sacred woods
• Cosmic creation imagery (Brahmā’s body as source)
• Craft and dharma of making (Viśvakarman)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The cosmos is portrayed as ethically ‘usable’ for dharmic purposes: materials (like sacred woods) are not merely natural resources but carry a sanctified pedigree, encouraging reverent, restrained, and purposeful use—especially in ritual and righteous craftsmanship.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily sarga (origination/emanation) in an etiological register: it explains how a specific entity (khadira) arose and acquired divine association (with Viśvakarman).

What is the symbolic significance?

Emerald-luster suggests purity and auspicious brilliance; thorniness can signify protective power. Its special excellence ‘for Viśvakarman’ links sacred matter to sacred making—architecture, icons, and ritual implements become extensions of cosmic order rather than mere human art.