Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 116

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच तमाह भगवान् वह्निः प्रीतो ऽसि तव वासव यत्त्वं दर्प परित्यज्य मामेव शरणं गतः

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca tamāha bhagavān vahniḥ prīto 'si tava vāsava yattvaṃ darpa parityajya māmeva śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

Translation

ਪੁਲਸਤ੍ਯ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਤਦ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਵਹ્નੀ (ਅਗਨੀ) ਨੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਆਖਿਆ—ਹੇ ਵਾਸਵ, ਮੈਂ ਤੈਥੋਂ ਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ਹਾਂ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਤੂੰ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ਕੇਵਲ ਮੇਰੀ ਸ਼ਰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਇਆ ਹੈਂ।

Speakers

• Pulastya narrating; Agni (Vahni) speaking to Indra (Vāsava)

Primary Deities

• Agni (Vahni)
• Indra (Vasava)
• Pulastya

Key Themes

• Śaraṇāgati (exclusive refuge)
• Darpatyāga (renunciation of pride)
• Grace gained through humility
• Inter-deity ethics (how gods model dharma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What theological point is made by Agni being ‘pleased’ with Indra’s humility?

The verse encodes a dharma principle: divine assistance is not merely transactional but is conditioned by inner disposition. ‘Abandoning darpa’ is presented as the moral prerequisite for receiving protection and restored power.

Does ‘mām eva śaraṇaṃ gataḥ’ imply exclusivist devotion to Agni?

In context it is situational exclusivity—Indra has genuinely surrendered to the refuge he sought, without hedging through pride or self-reliance. Purāṇic idiom often uses ‘eva’ to intensify sincerity rather than to deny the legitimacy of other deities.

How does this fit the Vāmana Purāṇa’s broader tendency as a geography-and-tīrtha text?

Even when a passage is not explicitly geographical, it supplies the ethical frame that tīrtha-māhātmyas repeatedly emphasize: pilgrimage and ritual are efficacious when paired with humility and surrender. Such narrative interludes function as ‘dharma keys’ for interpreting later tīrtha praises.