Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 47

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

अनन्यमनसो भक्त्या ये नमस्यन्ति केशवम् शुचयस्ते महात्मानस्तीर्थभूता भवन्ति ते

Transliteration

ananyamanaso bhaktyā ye namasyanti keśavam śucayaste mahātmānastīrthabhūtā bhavanti te

Translation

ଯେମାନେ ଅନନ୍ୟମନରେ ଭକ୍ତିସହ କେଶବଙ୍କୁ ନମସ୍କାର କରନ୍ତି, ସେହି ଶୁଚି ମହାତ୍ମାମାନେ ନିଜେ ତୀର୍ଥସ୍ୱରୂପ ହୋଇଯାନ୍ତି।

Speakers

• Unspecified speaker continuing instruction to a Daitya interlocutor

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Keśava)

Key Themes

• Ananya-bhakti (exclusive devotion)
• Purity (śuci) as fruit of devotion
• Saint as ‘living tīrtha’ (sanctifying presence)
• Tīrtha concept extended from geography to personhood

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How can a person ‘become a tīrtha’?

In Purāṇic idiom, a tīrtha is that which enables crossing—both literally (a ford) and spiritually (across saṃsāra). The verse elevates the devotee’s presence as sanctifying: association with such a person confers purification comparable to visiting a pilgrimage site.

Does this diminish the importance of physical tīrthas in the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography?

No; it complements it. The text can praise named sacred places while also teaching that the highest sanctity is carried by realized, pure devotees—making sanctity portable through conduct and devotion.

Why is ‘śuci’ (purity) linked to bowing to Keśava?

Because devotion is presented as intrinsically purifying: single-minded reverence aligns mind and conduct with sattva, producing inner and outer purity, which then qualifies the devotee as ‘tīrtha-bhūta’.