Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 46
The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa
स त्वं मुहूर्तमात्रं मामत्रैवं प्रतिपालय निवेद्य गुरवे यावदिहागच्छाम्यहं फलम्
sa tvaṃ muhūrtamātraṃ māmatraivaṃ pratipālaya nivedya gurave yāvadihāgacchāmyahaṃ phalam
[{"question": "How can the deity be both ‘sarvākāra’ (all-formed) and ‘nirākāra’ (formless)?", "answer": "This is a standard Purāṇic synthesis: the Supreme is transcendent beyond limiting attributes (nirākāra) while also freely manifesting as every perceivable form (sarvākāra). The hymn holds both together to avoid reducing divinity either to mere abstraction or to a single finite icon."}, {"question": "What does ‘vedākāra’ imply about scripture?", "answer": "It asserts that the Veda is not merely a human text but a divine mode of presence—revelation as embodiment. The Lord is praised as the very ‘shape’ or organizing reality of Vedic knowledge, grounding ritual and dharma in the sacred."}, {"question": "Why include a discourse particle like ‘hanta’ in a stuti?", "answer": "By sacralizing even ordinary emphatic speech (‘hanta’), the verse expands the theology of sound: all meaningful utterance, from formal svāhā to conversational exclamation, can be viewed as participating in the divine Word-principle."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }