Vamana Purana — Ritadhvaja Aids Galava, Shloka 21

Ritadhvaja’s Aid to Galava and Andhaka’s Infatuation with Gauri

Devanagari script

इयं यदि भवेन्नैव ममान्तःपुरवासिनि तन्मदीयेन जीवेन क्रियते निष्फलेन किम्

Transliteration

iyaṃ yadi bhavennaiva mamāntaḥpuravāsini tanmadīyena jīvena kriyate niṣphalena kim

Translation

‘ਜੇ ਇਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਅੰਦਰੂਨੀ ਮਹਲ ਦੀ ਵਾਸਣੀ ਨਾ ਬਣੇ, ਤਾਂ ਫਿਰ ਮੇਰੀ ਇਹ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ, ਜੋ ਨਿਸ਼ਫਲ ਰਹੇ, ਕਿਸ ਕੰਮ ਦੀ?’

Word by Word

• iyam: this (woman/one)
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional particle)

• bhavet: would be / may be
• bhavet: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• eva: indeed / just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• mama: of me / my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive)

• antaḥpura-vāsini: O dweller of the inner palace (harem)
• antaḥpura-vāsini: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antaḥpura (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsinī (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; वस् धातु + णिनि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (अन्तःपुरे वसति इति)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (demonstrative)

• madīyena: by my / with what is mine
• madīyena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madīya (प्रातिपदिक; मम-सम्बन्धी)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण

• jīvena: by (my) life
• jīvena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• kriyate: is done
• kriyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• niṣphalena: by/with the fruitless (life)
• niṣphalena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣphala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण

• kim: what? / of what use?
• kim: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक (interrogative)

Speakers

• Andhaka speaking (continuation of his desire-driven monologue; audience implied as attendants or narrative space).

Primary Deities

• Parvati (implied)
• Shiva (implied as her consort; narrative horizon)
• Kama (as causal force of desire)

Key Themes

• Adharma: coercive appropriation and lust
• Royal/Asuric ‘antaḥpura’ motif (power expressed as possession)
• Narrative causality: sin leading to downfall (pāpa → vināśa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘antaḥpura’ imply in Purāṇic narrative ethics?

‘Antaḥpura’ is not merely a palace space; it signals a regime of possession and control. Andhaka’s wish to make her ‘mamāntaḥpuravāsinī’ frames desire as entitlement, which the Purāṇas treat as a hallmark of asuric disposition and a cause of ruin.

How does this verse function as a turning point in the Andhaka story?

It verbalizes intent: not just attraction but determination to seize. In the Andhaka cycle, this intention toward Pārvatī (Śiva’s consort) becomes the decisive transgression that summons divine resistance and sets the trajectory toward Andhaka’s destruction.

Is there any geographic or tirtha-related information to extract here?

No. The verse is psychological and ethical in focus, with no explicit toponyms or sacred hydrography.