Vamana Purana — Harihara Non-Duality, Shloka 57

Harihara Non-Duality and the Revelation of Sadasiva to the Ganas

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच बाढमित्यब्रवीच्छर्वश्चक्रे निर्धूतकल्पषान् संपरिष्वजताव्यक्तस्तान् सर्वान् गणयूथपान्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca bāḍhamityabravīccharvaścakre nirdhūtakalpaṣān saṃpariṣvajatāvyaktastān sarvān gaṇayūthapān

Translation

Пуластья сказал: Шарва ответил: «Да будет так», и очистил их от греха. Непроявленный обнял всех тех предводителей сонмов ган.

Speakers

• Pulastya (narrator) → (implied audience
• traditionally Nārada); within narration: Śiva → Gaṇayūthapās

Primary Deities

• Śiva

Key Themes

• Divine absolution (nirdhūta-kalpaṣa)
• Grace expressed through intimacy (embrace)
• Śiva’s transcendence (Avyakta) alongside personal compassion
• Restoration of order within the gaṇas

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is Śiva called “Avyakta” (Unmanifest) while performing a personal act like embracing?

Purāṇic theology often holds together transcendence and immanence: the supreme is beyond form (avyakta) yet freely assumes relational presence. The embrace dramatizes compassion without denying metaphysical supremacy.

What does “nirdhūta-kalpaṣān” imply—ritual purification or moral transformation?

Both layers are available: it can mean removal of impurity akin to ritual cleansing, and also the eradication of the moral fault they named—discord-born demerit—through Śiva’s sanction and grace.

Who are the “gaṇa-yūthapās” here?

They are commanders or chiefs among Śiva’s gaṇas (attendant hosts). The verse emphasizes that the boon affects leadership, thereby stabilizing the entire collective.