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Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 4

Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra

शून्यं गिरिमपश्यन्त अज्ञानतिमिरावृताः तान् मूढदृष्टीन् संप्रोक्ष्य देवान् विष्णुर्महाद्युतिः

śūnyaṃ girimapaśyanta ajñānatimirāvṛtāḥ tān mūḍhadṛṣṭīn saṃprokṣya devān viṣṇurmahādyutiḥ

Cobertos pela escuridão da ignorância, viram a montanha como vazia. Então o radiante Viṣṇu, aspergindo água sagrada sobre aqueles deuses de visão iludida, restituiu-lhes a clareza.

śūnyamempty
śūnyam:
Karma (कर्म/predicate to object)
TypeAdjective
Rootśūnya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with girim (as predicate adjective)
girimthe mountain
girim:
Karma (कर्म/object)
TypeNoun
Rootgiri (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular
apaśyanthey saw
apaśyan:
Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
TypeVerb
Root√dṛś (दृश् धातु)
FormImperfect (लङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; parasmaipada; form in text as apaśyanta (Vedic/epic plural)
ajñāna-timira-āvṛtāḥcovered by the darkness of ignorance
ajñāna-timira-āvṛtāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootajñāna + timira + āvṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; PPP āvṛta (√vṛ “cover”) with तत्पुरुष: अज्ञान-तिमिरेण आवृताः
tānthem
tān:
Karma (कर्म/object of saṃprokṣya)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; pronoun
mūḍha-dṛṣṭīnwhose vision was deluded
mūḍha-dṛṣṭīn:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootmūḍha + dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; बहुव्रीहि “येषां दृष्टिः मूढा”
saṃprokṣyahaving sprinkled
saṃprokṣya:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/gerund)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootsam-√pruc/√prokṣ (प्रोक्ष् धातु) (क्त्वान्त)
FormAbsolutive (क्त्वा), indeclinable; “having sprinkled (with water)”
devānthe gods
devān:
Karma (कर्म/object; apposition to tān)
TypeNoun
Rootdeva (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural
viṣṇuḥViṣṇu
viṣṇuḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/subject)
TypeNoun
Rootviṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
mahā-dyutiḥof great splendor
mahā-dyutiḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/apposition to viṣṇuḥ)
TypeAdjective
Rootmahā + dyuti (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; कर्मधारय “महती द्युतिः यस्य” (also interpretable as bahuvrīhi; taken here as epithet in apposition)
Narratorial voice; action centered on Viṣṇu affecting the devas
VishnuDevas (collective)
Avidyā (ignorance) as perceptual veilRitual purification (prokṣaṇa)Divine revelation/epiphany mechanicsRestoration of right vision

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

FAQs

Purāṇic narrative often treats ‘devas’ as powerful yet not omniscient; they can be veiled by māyā or situational avidyā. ‘Ajñāna-timira’ here is a literary-theological device explaining why a sacred place appears ‘empty’ despite an underlying divine reality.

Saṃprokṣaṇa is a ritual act associated with purification and consecration (often with sanctified water/mantra). In narrative terms it functions as a ‘reset’ of perception—removing impurity/veil so the devas can apprehend what is truly present or what is about to be revealed.

Not necessarily. It reports the devas’ perception under delusion. The verse immediately explains that their seeing ‘emptiness’ is caused by ignorance-darkness, implying that the locus retains sacred potency and that the ‘absence’ is a matter of concealed presence or altered visibility.