Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 51

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

न ते पुनः सम्भवन्ति तद्भक्तास्तत्परायणाः ध्यायेद् दामोदरं यस्तु भक्तिनम्रोर्ऽचयेत वा

Transliteration

na te punaḥ sambhavanti tadbhaktāstatparāyaṇāḥ dhyāyed dāmodaraṃ yastu bhaktinamror'cayeta vā

Translation

Those devotees of Him who are wholly devoted to Him do not come to rebirth again. Whoever meditates upon Dāmodara, or, bowing in devotion, worships Him—(such a one is freed from repeated embodiment).

Speakers

• Likely the narrator-sage (commonly Pulastya) instructing Nārada in the Saromāhātmya stream (recensional variation possible).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari/Dāmodara)

Key Themes

• Bhakti (devotion) as liberating power
• Mokṣa / freedom from punarjanma
• Meditation (dhyāna) and worship (arcana)
• Hari as supreme refuge (parāyaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does “na te punaḥ sambhavanti” imply in Purāṇic theology—literal end of rebirth or a praise statement?

In Purāṇic bhakti passages it functions as a strong soteriological claim: single-pointed devotion (tat-parāyaṇatā) to Hari culminates in release from saṃsāra. Even when read as stuti (eulogy), the intended doctrinal force is that bhakti is a sufficient means to mokṣa.

Why is Viṣṇu called Dāmodara here rather than Vāmana or Trivikrama?

Adhyāya 67 is emphasizing bhakti-practice (dhyāna, arcana) and the sweetness/approachability of Hari. “Dāmodara” evokes the Kṛṣṇa-bhakti register—God bound by love—supporting the chapter’s devotional teaching rather than a specific avatāra narrative.

Is any tīrtha being praised in this verse itself?

Not directly. The verse is a general bhakti-phala statement embedded within a larger māhātmya context; the geographical/tīrtha frame belongs to the surrounding chapter, not to this śloka’s explicit vocabulary.