Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 72

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

महादेव उवाच एवं भवतु दैत्येन्द्र पापं ते यातु संक्षयम् मुक्तो ऽसि दैत्यभावाच्च भृङ्गी गणपतिर्भव

Transliteration

mahādeva uvāca evaṃ bhavatu daityendra pāpaṃ te yātu saṃkṣayam mukto 'si daityabhāvācca bhṛṅgī gaṇapatirbhava

Translation

Mahādeva said: “So be it, O lord of the Daityas. Let your sin come to an end. You are freed from the daitya-nature; become Bhṛṅgī, a Gaṇapati (chief among my attendants).”

Speakers

• Mahādeva (Śiva) to Andhaka

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Divine grace overriding former identity
• Pāpa-kṣaya (exhaustion of sin)
• Initiation into Śiva’s gaṇa-community
• Reframing of ‘asura’ into devotee-servant
• Śaiva soteriology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘gaṇapati’ here the same as Gaṇeśa?

In this context it functions as a rank-title—‘chief of the gaṇas’—bestowed by Śiva. While Gaṇeśa is famously called Gaṇapati, Purāṇic usage also applies the term generically to leaders among Śiva’s attendants.

Who/what is Bhṛṅgī in Śaiva tradition?

Bhṛṅgī is a paradigmatic Śaiva gaṇa known for exclusive devotion to Śiva. Naming Andhaka ‘Bhṛṅgī’ signals a complete reorientation from hostile asura-identity to exemplary Śaiva service.

What does ‘pāpaṃ te yātu saṃkṣayam’ imply about karmic consequences?

It expresses a theology of grace in which Śiva’s anugraha can terminate accumulated demerit when repentance is sincere; the verse frames the change as both moral purification and ontological reclassification (from daitya-bhāva to gaṇa-status).