Vamana Purana — Vamana's Birth, Shloka 5

Vamana’s Birth during Bali’s Horse-Sacrifice and the Mapping of Vishnu’s Sacred Presences

Devanagari script

विज्ञाय तत्राप्यरतिं स्नात्वार्ऽच्य पितृदेवताः प्रजग्मुः किरणां पुण्यां दिनेशकिरणच्युताम्

Transliteration

vijñāya tatrāpyaratiṃ snātvār'cya pitṛdevatāḥ prajagmuḥ kiraṇāṃ puṇyāṃ dineśakiraṇacyutām

Translation

পুলস্ত্য বললেন—তখন বাসুদেব নিকটে আসতেই পৃথিবী কেঁপে উঠল, পর্বতসমূহ দুলতে লাগ�Vamana Purana,62,6,VamP 62.6,tasyāṃ snātvār'cya deverṣe sarva eva maharṣayaḥ airāvatīṃ supuṇyodāṃ snātvā jagmuratheśvarīm,तस्यां स्नात्वार्ऽच्य देवेर्षे सर्व एव महर्षयः ऐरावतीं सुपुण्योदां स्नात्वा जग्मुरथेश्वरीम्,Saromahatmya (Tirtha-Mahatmya Cycle),Tirtha Mahima,Adhyaya 62 (Airāvatī–Devikā–Payoṣṇī tīrtha-snāna-prasaṅga),62.6,tasyāṃ snātvār'cya deverṣe sarva eva maharṣayaḥ airāvatīṃ supuṇyodāṃ snātvā jagmuratheśvarīm,tasyāṃ snātvārcya deverṣe sarva eva maharṣayaḥ | airāvatīṃ supuṇyodāṃ snātvā jagmur atheśvarīm ||,O divine seer

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Narrator describing the sages’ ritual actions and onward movement.

Primary Deities

• Surya
• Pitrs
• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Ritual completeness at tīrthas (snāna + pūjā)
• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa/ancestral rites in pilgrimage
• Solar sacrality (Sūrya-kiraṇa sambandha)
• Pilgrimage discernment (moving on when ‘arati’ persists)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What might ‘arati’ mean here—spiritual dissatisfaction or a practical obstacle?

Purāṇic usage allows both. In a tīrtha itinerary, ‘arati’ can indicate that the sages did not find the intended sanctity, auspicious signs, or ritual suitability at that stop; it can also hint at discomfort or inauspiciousness prompting them to continue to the correctly ‘charged’ tīrtha.

Why are Pitṛs worshipped alongside the devatās during river-pilgrimage?

Tīrthas are classic venues for śrāddha and pitṛ-tarpaṇa because water offerings are central to ancestral rites. The verse presents an orthodox sequence: snāna (purification) followed by arcana to both divine and ancestral recipients, integrating deva- and pitṛ-dharma.

What is the significance of the place-name ‘Kiraṇā’ and the phrase ‘dineśa-kiraṇa-cyutā’?

It marks a solar-associated sacred site—either mythically ‘born from’ the Sun’s rays or ritually empowered by solar presence. Such phrasing is typical of Purāṇic sacral etymologies that explain why a location is puṇya and how its sanctity is anchored in a deity’s emanation.