Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 30

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

ततः पपात देवेशः कालिन्दीसरितं मुने निमग्ने शङ्करे आपो दग्धाः कृष्णात्वमागताः

Transliteration

tataḥ papāta deveśaḥ kālindīsaritaṃ mune nimagne śaṅkare āpo dagdhāḥ kṛṣṇātvamāgatāḥ

Translation

Então o Senhor dos deuses caiu no rio Kālindī, ó sábio. Quando Śaṅkara nele afundou, as águas foram chamuscadas e tornaram-se negras.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then’

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• deveśaḥ: Lord of the gods (Śiva)
• deveśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘lord of the gods’)

• kālindī-saritam: into the river Kālindī (Yamunā)
• kālindī-saritam: Karma (कर्म) (destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālindī + sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (sarit), द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘the river Kālindī’)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• nimagne: when (he) was immersed
• nimagne: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni+majj (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; ‘when (he) had sunk/immersed’

• śaṅkare: in/when Śaṅkara (was)
• śaṅkare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṅkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• āpaḥ: waters
• āpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (pluralia tantum), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• dagdhāḥ: burnt/scorched
• dagdhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; agrees with āpaḥ

• kṛṣṇatvam: blackness
• kṛṣṇatvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa + tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (abstract noun)

• āgatāḥ: became/attained
• āgatāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+gam (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past active/resultative participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having come to/attained’ (with kṛṣṇatvam)

Speakers

• Narrative voice addressing a sage (mune); explicit dialogue participants not named here

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Deveśa/Śaṅkara)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha etiology
• Shaivism
• Mythic explanation for natural feature (dark waters)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The episode frames nature as responsive to divine presence, encouraging reverence for rivers as living sacred realities; it also cautions that intense inner ‘heat’ (tapas/duḥkha) can ‘scorch’ one’s environment unless transmuted into beneficence.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is a tīrtha-māhātmya-type origin account (a narrativized explanation for a geographic trait). In pancalakṣaṇa terms it is ancillary kathā supporting dharma and pilgrimage practice rather than sarga/pratisarga.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Waters becoming black’ symbolizes the absorption of Śiva’s fiery energy and sorrow into the world-stream; the river’s altered color becomes a permanent mnemonic of the divine event, sacralizing the geography.