Vamana Purana — Sin-Destroying Hymn (Part 2), Shloka 7

The Second Sin-Destroying Hymn (Pāpaśamana Stava) and Syncretic Praise of Hari-Hara

Devanagari script

नमस्ये च गदापाणिं नमस्ये च कुशोशयम् अर्धनारीश्वरं देवं नमस्ये पापनाशनम्

Transliteration

namasye ca gadāpāṇiṃ namasye ca kuśośayam ardhanārīśvaraṃ devaṃ namasye pāpanāśanam

Translation

I bow to the mace-handed one; I bow to him who lies upon kuśa-grass; I bow to the god Ardhanārīśvara; I bow to the destroyer of sin.

Speakers

• Unnamed stotra-voice; salutations directed to Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva forms
• culminating in a sin-destroying salvific claim.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva
• Shakti (Devi/Parvati)

Key Themes

• Ritual purity (kuśa)
• Shaiva–Shakta synthesis (Ardhanārīśvara)
• Sin-destruction and merit (pāpanāśana)
• Stuti

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the stuti include Ardhanārīśvara alongside Vaiṣṇava epithets?

The sequence models a harmonizing theology: Viṣṇu’s protective sovereignty (gadā) and Śiva–Śakti’s integrated divinity (Ardhanārīśvara) are both approached as sources of grace, fitting a tīrtha-oriented chapter where multiple cults converge.

What is the significance of “kuśośaya” (reclining on kuśa grass)?

Kuśa is a Vedic ritual grass associated with purity, vows, and sacrificial procedure. Calling the deity “kuśa-śaya” frames devotion in a vrata/ritual idiom—approaching the divine through disciplined purity rather than only temple iconography.

How should “pāpanāśana” be read—about the deity or the tīrtha?

In Purāṇic tīrtha discourse it often functions both ways: the deity is intrinsically sin-destroying, and contact with the deity through stuti, vrata, or pilgrimage is the practical means by which sin is said to be removed.