Vamana Purana — Indra's Campaign on Mount Malaya, Shloka 14

Birth of the Maruts

Devanagari script

तत्र नाम विभुर्लोभे शासनत्वात् शरैर्दृढैः पाकशासनतां शक्रः सर्वामरपतिर्विभुः

Transliteration

tatra nāma vibhurlobhe śāsanatvāt śarairdṛḍhaiḥ pākaśāsanatāṃ śakraḥ sarvāmarapatirvibhuḥ

Translation

{"bhagavata_parallel": null, "vishnu_purana_parallel": null, "ramayana_connection": null, "mahabharata_echo": "General deva-asura battle diction and chariot-command motifs echo Mahabharata war narrative style (e.g., charioteer addressed, advance toward a chief).", "other_puranas": ["Shiva Purana (Andhaka-vadha narratives)", "Skanda Purana (Shaiva battle cycles involving Pramathas)", "Linga Purana (Andhaka episode variants)"], "vedic_reference": null}

Speakers

• Narrator explaining an epithet within the ongoing battle narration

Primary Deities

• Indra (Śakra)

Key Themes

• Name-etymology (nirukti) of divine epithets
• Indra’s kingship over the devas
• Moral coloring of the foe (lobha/greed)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of this verse within the battle narrative?

It pauses the action to provide nirukti—an explanatory etymology—linking a well-known epithet of Indra (‘Pākaśāsana’) to a specific punitive act against a named adversary, Pāka.

Does ‘lobhe’ describe Indra or Pāka?

Grammatically and contextually it characterizes the adversarial figure (Pāka) as associated with greed, reinforcing the moral contrast: the deva’s ‘discipline’ subdues a greed-driven opponent.

Why do Purāṇas include such etymological explanations?

They serve mnemonic and theological purposes: epithets become anchored in narrative deeds, making divine names meaningful as summaries of cosmic functions (here, Indra as the punisher/subduer of disruptive forces).