Vamana Purana — Indra's Penance & Aditi's Vow, Shloka 5

Indra’s Penance at the Great River and Aditi’s Solar Vow for Vishnu’s Descent

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मा प्रोवाच शक्रैतद् भुज्यते स्वकृतं फलम् शक्रः पप्रच्छ भो ब्रूहि किं मया दुष्कृतं कृतम्

Transliteration

brahmā provāca śakraitad bhujyate svakṛtaṃ phalam śakraḥ papraccha bho brūhi kiṃ mayā duṣkṛtaṃ kṛtam

Translation

ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: 'ਹੇ ਸ਼ੱਕਰ, ਜੀਵ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਕੀਤੇ ਕਰਮਾਂ ਦਾ ਫਲ ਭੋਗਣਾ ਹੀ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।' ਸ਼ੱਕਰ ਨੇ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ: 'ਹੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ! ਮੈਨੂੰ ਦੱਸੋ, ਮੈਂ ਕਿਹੜਾ ਮਾੜਾ ਕਰਮ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ?'

Speakers

• Brahmā to Śakra (Indra); Śakra questions Brahmā

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Indra (Śakra)

Key Themes

• Karma-phala (inevitability of results)
• Moral causality
• Inquiry into sin (pāpa) and its origin

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Brahmā emphasize ‘svakṛtaṃ phalam’ here?

The verse frames the episode as a karmic lesson: even a deva like Indra is not exempt from moral causality; suffering arises from one’s own prior act, not from arbitrary fate.

What is Indra trying to understand by asking ‘kiṃ mayā duṣkṛtaṃ kṛtam’?

He seeks the specific transgression responsible for his affliction, setting up the identification of the sin as bhrūṇahatya (killing a fetus/embryo) in the following verses.

Does this verse indicate a sectarian (Vaiṣṇava/Śaiva) context?

Not directly; it is a general dharma-śāstric principle embedded in Purāṇic narrative, applicable across sectarian frames.