Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 29

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

तस्मात् पापादहं मोक्षमिच्छमि त्वत्प्रसादतः पापप्रशमनायालं कुरु मे धर्मदेशनम्

Transliteration

tasmāt pāpādahaṃ mokṣamicchami tvatprasādataḥ pāpapraśamanāyālaṃ kuru me dharmadeśanam

Translation

Dharma Teaching

Speakers

• A niśācara/rākṣasa (night-being) petitions a dvijottama (best of twice-born
• a brahmin sage).

Key Themes

• Prāyaścitta (expiation)
• Dharma-upadeśa (ethical instruction)
• Transformation of the wicked
• Grace (prasāda) as a means to purification

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the speaker ask for mokṣa ‘through your grace’ rather than by ritual alone?

Purāṇic dharma discourse often frames purification as requiring both right action (prāyaścitta, vrata, dāna) and the moral-spiritual authority of a realized teacher. ‘Tvatprasāda’ signals that instruction and sanction from a dharmic authority is itself a purifying force, not merely a social formality.

Does ‘mokṣa’ here mean final liberation or immediate release from sin?

In many Purāṇic contexts, mokṣa can be used in a proximate sense—release from the bondage/consequence of a specific pāpa—especially when paired with ‘pāpa-praśamana’. The broader narrative may still point toward ultimate liberation, but the immediate request is for expiation and moral reorientation.

What is the narrative function of a rākṣasa seeking dharma-teaching?

It dramatizes dharma’s universality: even those marked as ‘krūra-svabhāva’ (cruel by nature) can turn toward right conduct. This also sets up the authority of the dvijottama as a dispenser of prāyaścitta and ethical guidance within the chapter’s tīrtha/dharma setting.