Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 14

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

Devanagari script

आरप्रान्तेषु जीमूताः सौदामिन्यृक्षतारकाः बाह्मतो मुनयो यस्य बालखिल्यादयस्तथा

Transliteration

āraprānteṣu jīmūtāḥ saudāminyṛkṣatārakāḥ bāhmato munayo yasya bālakhilyādayastathā

Translation

आरप्रान्तेषु जीमूताः सौदामिन्यृक्षतारकाः; बाह्यतो मुनयो यस्य बालखिल्यादयस्तथा।

Speakers

• Not specified in input; stuti continues.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari)
• Sudarshana (Cakra)

Key Themes

• Cakra as cosmogram including sky phenomena
• Astral order (nakṣatra/constellation imagery)
• Ṛṣi presence in cosmic structure
• Purāṇic synthesis of meteorology, astronomy, and theology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are the Bālakhilyas and why are they mentioned here?

Bālakhilyas are a celebrated group of tiny, austere ṛṣis in Purāṇic tradition, often linked with solar narratives and cosmic maintenance through tapas. Their placement ‘around’ the cakra underscores that ascetic power and ṛṣi-presence are integral to cosmic stability.

What is the function of listing clouds, lightning, and stars at the spoke-ends?

It completes the cosmogram by extending from the wheel’s center (creator deity) to its outermost reach (atmospheric and astral phenomena). The image suggests that weather and celestial patterns are not random but ordered within the divine instrument.

Is this ‘astral mapping’ connected to pilgrimage geography in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Indirectly: the Vāmana Purāṇa often frames terrestrial tīrthas within a larger cosmic sacrality. Even when a verse lacks place-names, it can function as a theological preface that sacralizes the landscape by linking it to cosmic order.