Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

यता रत्नानि जलधेरसंख्येयानि पुत्रक तथा गुणा हि देवस्य त्वसंख्यातास्तु चक्रिणः

Transliteration

yatā ratnāni jaladherasaṃkhyeyāni putraka tathā guṇā hi devasya tvasaṃkhyātāstu cakriṇaḥ

Translation

ਪਿਆਰੇ ਪੁੱਤਰ! ਜਿਵੇਂ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਤਨ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਹਨ, ਤਿਵੇਂ ਹੀ ਚੱਕਰਧਾਰੀ ਦੇਵ (ਵਿਸ਼ਨੂ) ਦੇ ਗੁਣ ਵੀ ਨਿਸ਼ਚੇ ਹੀ ਅਗਣਿਤ ਹਨ।

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (speaker addresses a listener as ‘putraka’
• ‘dear child’).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Stuti of Viṣṇu
• Ananta-guṇa (innumerable divine attributes)
• Bhakti (devotional orientation)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why compare Viṣṇu’s qualities to jewels in the ocean?

The ocean is a standard Purāṇic image for immeasurable abundance. The simile conveys that Viṣṇu’s auspicious attributes (guṇas) are not merely many, but inexhaustible and beyond human enumeration—supporting a theology of limitless divinity.

Does ‘jaladhi’ here indicate a specific sacred ocean or a general cosmographic ocean?

In this verse it functions generically as ‘the ocean’ (a cosmographic/geographic referent) rather than a named tīrtha. The emphasis is rhetorical—immeasurability—rather than pilgrimage geography.

What does ‘cakriṇaḥ’ signal in Purāṇic praise?

‘Cakrī’ identifies Viṣṇu through the Sudarśana-cakra, marking him as the sovereign protector who upholds cosmic order (dharma) and removes obstacles for devotees.