Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 38

Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

शरैः शस्त्रैश्च सततं वध्यमाना महात्मना वीरभद्रेण देवाद्या अवहारमर्कुत

Transliteration

śaraiḥ śastraiśca satataṃ vadhyamānā mahātmanā vīrabhadreṇa devādyā avahāramarkuta

Translation

မြားနှင့် လက်နက်တို့ဖြင့် မဟာအတ္ထမ (महात्मन्) ဝီရဘဒ္ဒရ (Vīrabhadra) က အဆက်မပြတ် ထိုးနှက်သဖြင့်၊ ဒေဝတို့အနက် အရှေ့တန်းသူများသည် နောက်ဆုတ်၍ စည်းတန်းပျက်ပြားကာ ရှုပ်ထွေးသွားကြ၏။

Word by Word

• śaraiḥ: with arrows
• śaraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• śastraiḥ: with weapons
• śastraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• satatam: continually
• satatam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाववत्)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: continuously)

• vadhyamānāḥ: being attacked/slain
• vadhyamānāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Logical subject in passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vadh (धातु) + ya (णिच्/यक्) + māna (कृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (Present passive participle/शानच्-मान), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (being slain/being struck)

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Karaṇa (करण/Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (‘great-souled’)

• vīrabhadreṇa: by Vīrabhadra
• vīrabhadreṇa: Karaṇa (करण/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīrabhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• devādyāḥ: the gods and others
• devādyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘the gods and others’ / ‘beginning with the gods’)

• avahāram: withdrawal/retreat
• avahāram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avahāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• akurvata: made/took (i.e., retreated)
• akurvata: Kriyā (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), आत्मनेपद, तृतीय-पुरुष, बहुवचन

Speakers

• Narratorial layer not specified in input (often Pulastya → Nārada frame)

Primary Deities

• Vīrabhadra
• Devas (collective)
• Śiva (contextual)

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Yajña disruption
• Divine retribution

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse underscores that even exalted powers (devādyāḥ) are not immune to the consequences of adharma within ritual life; when sacrifice is divorced from right intention and reverence, it becomes vulnerable to corrective force.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily vamśānucarita/legendary narrative (deeds of divine agents). It is not cosmogenesis (sarga) but a didactic episode embedded in Purāṇic historiography.

What is the symbolic significance?

Vīrabhadra represents the fierce aspect of dharma’s enforcement: the ‘arrows and weapons’ signify unerring karmic/ethical consequence that dismantles pride and restores cosmic equilibrium when ritual authority is misused.