Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 42

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

यद्भूभ्यां न्यपतद् विप्र स्वेदबिन्दुः शिवाननात् तस्मादङ्गरपुञ्जाभो बालकः समजायत

Transliteration

yadbhūbhyāṃ nyapatad vipra svedabinduḥ śivānanāt tasmādaṅgarapuñjābho bālakaḥ samajāyata

Translation

O brāhmaṇa, when a drop of sweat fell to the ground from Śiva’s face, from that there arose a child, resembling a heap of glowing embers.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic sage) addressing a brāhmaṇa interlocutor (vipra) within the Andhaka narrative frame

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Origin of a being from Śiva’s bodily energy
• Fiery imagery (aṅgāra) indicating tamasic/raudra potency
• Mythic causation within Andhaka-cycle

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the child said to be ‘like a heap of embers’ (aṅgāra-puñja-ābha)?

The ember-simile signals raudra-tejas—Śiva’s fierce, transformative energy. In Andhaka-related episodes, such imagery foreshadows destructive or uncanny capacities rather than an ordinary human birth.

Is this a standard Purāṇic birth motif?

Yes. Purāṇas frequently describe beings arising from a deity’s bodily emanations (sweat, breath, glance, etc.) to convey that the being is a direct condensation of divine śakti rather than a womb-born creature.

Does this verse contain a specific tīrtha or geographic marker typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

No. It only mentions ‘earth/ground’ (bhūmi) in general; the verse functions as narrative etiology within the Andhaka cycle rather than a tīrtha-mahātmya passage.