Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Counsel to Andhaka, Shloka 55

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Prahlada’s Counsel to Andhaka on Dharma

Devanagari script

समादिष्टो ऽन्धकेनाथ भेरीं दुर्योधनो बलात् ताडयामास वेगेन यथाप्राणेन भूयसा

Transliteration

samādiṣṭo 'ndhakenātha bherīṃ duryodhano balāt tāḍayāmāsa vegena yathāprāṇena bhūyasā

Translation

“Assim instruído por Andhaka, Duryodhana então, por pura força, bateu o tambor com rapidez—pondo nele o máximo possível de alento vital (esforço), ainda mais.”

Speakers

• Narrator voice describing Duryodhana’s action after Andhaka’s command

Primary Deities

• Shiva (implied as the overarching divine focus of the Andhaka cycle)

Key Themes

• Obedience to command
• Martial exertion
• War-signal acoustics
• Asura mobilization

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is this Duryodhana the same as the Mahābhārata’s Duryodhana?

The name can recur across Purāṇic and epic traditions. Without additional identifiers (lineage, context, companions), it is safest to treat him as a warrior bearing that name within the Andhaka narrative frame; some recensions or commentators may equate him with the Kaurava, but the verse itself does not prove it.

What does ‘yathāprāṇena’ imply about the action?

It is an idiom for maximal effort—beating the drum with full bodily force and breath, emphasizing intensity and urgency in mustering troops.

What narrative function does the drum-beating serve?

It marks the transition from command to action: the bherī’s sound is a public signal that organizes forces, intimidates opponents, and ritually frames the onset of conflict.