Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 138

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा देवताः पूज्य भार्यां चाद्भुतदर्शनाम् प्राह तत्त्वं न विन्दामि यत् पृच्छामि वदस्व तत्

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā devatāḥ pūjya bhāryāṃ cādbhutadarśanām prāha tattvaṃ na vindāmi yat pṛcchāmi vadasva tat

Translation

Having seen her—his wife of wondrous appearance—(he) honored the deities and then said: “I do not grasp the truth (of this matter). Tell me what I ask; speak that.”

Speakers

• Unnamed male interlocutor (likely a householder/ascetic figure in the chapter’s narrative) addressing his wife; deities are worshipped as preliminaries.

Primary Deities

• Unspecified Devatās (collective)

Key Themes

• Inquiry into hidden truth (tattva-jijñāsā)
• Auspicious preliminaries: worship before questioning
• Marvel/portent (adbhuta) as narrative trigger

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the speaker worship the devatās before questioning his wife?

In Purāṇic narrative etiquette, pūjā functions as a śubha-kriyā (auspicious preliminary) that sanctifies speech and inquiry, especially when the topic concerns destiny, extraordinary births, or concealed divine causality.

What does tattva mean here—philosophical ‘reality’ or factual ‘truth’?

Here tattva primarily means the factual/causal truth behind an extraordinary circumstance (adbhuta). It can carry philosophical resonance, but the immediate sense is: ‘the real explanation of what I am witnessing.’

Does this verse indicate a specific deity or avatāra context?

No. The verse uses the generic devatāḥ and does not name Viṣṇu, Śiva, or a specific avatāra; identification must come from surrounding verses in Adhyāya 43.