Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

नमस्यामि हरेश्चक्रं यस्य नाभ्यां पितामहः तुण्डे त्रिशूलधृक् शर्व आरामूले महाद्रयः

Transliteration

namasyāmi hareścakraṃ yasya nābhyāṃ pitāmahaḥ tuṇḍe triśūladhṛk śarva ārāmūle mahādrayaḥ

Translation

{"has_teaching": true, "teaching_type": "dana", "core_concept": "dīpa-dāna as bhakti and dharma", "teaching_summary": "Bali offers lamps filled with fragrant oil and ghee according to proper rite, emphasizing that giving light (and doing so personally) is a potent devotional gift that purifies and pleases Vāsudeva.", "vedantic_theme": "tamas-to-jñāna symbolism—light as discernment; offering to Īśvara transforms giving into worship (īśvara-arpita).", "practical_application": "Offer a lamp regularly (temple/home), with cleanliness and intention; pair external light with inner discipline (study, meditation, ethical living)."}

Speakers

• Not specified in input; verse is in first-person stuti (a devotee/narrator addressing Hari/Sudarśana).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Sudarshana (Cakra)
• Brahma (Pitamaha)
• Shiva (Sarva)

Key Themes

• Cosmic symbolism of Sudarshana
• Shaiva–Vaishnava unity (Śiva located within Viṣṇu’s cosmic order)
• The wheel as a map of the universe
• Devotional praise (stuti)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Brahmā and Śiva placed ‘inside’ the cakra?

The verse uses the cakra as a cosmogram: the hub signifies the generative center (Brahmā as creator), while the rim signifies the boundary/limit and protective circumference (Śiva as the great lord associated with dissolution and guardianship). It expresses a hierarchical but integrative theology in which major deities function within Hari’s cosmic instrument.

What does ‘ārāmūle mahādrayaḥ’ imply?

By locating ‘great mountains’ at the bases of the spokes, the text imagines the world’s stabilizing masses as structural supports of the cosmic wheel—mountains as the ‘framework’ that upholds directions/regions (often symbolized by spokes).

Is this verse tied to a specific tīrtha in the Saromāhātmya?

Not directly in this line: no named tīrtha appears. In Saromāhātmya contexts, such cosmological stuti often precedes or frames a tīrtha’s praise by situating the local sacred site within a universal divine order.