Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

तदाप्रभृति कालिन्द्या भृङ्गाञ्जननिभं जलम् आस्यन्दत् पुण्यतीर्था सा केशपाशमिवावने

Transliteration

tadāprabhṛti kālindyā bhṛṅgāñjananibhaṃ jalam āsyandat puṇyatīrthā sā keśapāśamivāvane

Translation

Desde então, a água da Kālindī passou a correr escura, como a abelha negra ou o colírio; e esse rio, um tīrtha sagrado, derramou-se sobre a terra como uma trança de cabelos.

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘then/at that time’

• prabhṛti: from (that time) onward
• prabhṛti: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (postposition/adverb): ‘from, starting from’

• kālindyāḥ: of Kālindī (Yamunā)
• kālindyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālindī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bhṛṅga-añjana-nibham: bee-collyrium-like (very black)
• bhṛṅga-añjana-nibham: Karma (कर्म) (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhṛṅga + añjana + nibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘like collyrium of a bee’ i.e., very black); agrees with jalam

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here प्रथमा (subject)

• āsyandat: flowed/oozed forth
• āsyandat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+syand (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puṇyatīrthā: (she) the holy tīrtha
• puṇyatīrthā: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘holy’ + ‘ford/place of pilgrimage’); predicate adjective of sā (kālindī)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• keśa-pāśam: a tress/mass of hair
• keśa-pāśam: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśa + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘a mass/coil of hair’)

• iva: like
• iva: Upamāna-dyotaka (उपमान-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (upamā particle): ‘like’

• avane: on the ground/earth
• avane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrative voice (dialogue frame not explicit in the provided excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva (implied as causal agent from prior verse)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tirtha Mahatmya
• Etiological myth
• Poetic imagery in Purāṇic description

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Pilgrimage is framed not merely as travel but as contact with storied sanctity: the river’s very appearance becomes a reminder of divine history, encouraging śraddhā (reverent trust) and restraint in one’s interaction with sacred waters.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is tīrtha-prasaṃśā/mahatmya material (a descriptive continuation of a geographic origin story). It supports dharma (snāna, pilgrimage, reverence) rather than genealogical or cosmic creation cycles.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘collyrium-like’ blackness evokes auspicious beauty and potency (añjana as protective/beautifying), while the ‘braid of hair’ simile subtly aligns the river with Śiva’s iconography (matted hair and the descent of waters), reinforcing sectarian harmony through shared symbolism.