Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 71

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

अथोवाच हरिर्ब्रह्मन् शार्वो लिङ्गो महर्षिभिः पातितस्तस्य भारार्ता संचचाल वसुंधरा

Transliteration

athovāca harirbrahman śārvo liṅgo maharṣibhiḥ pātitastasya bhārārtā saṃcacāla vasuṃdharā

Translation

अथ हरिरुवाच— “ब्रह्मन्! महर्षिभिः शार्वं लिङ्गं पातितम्; तस्य भारपीडिता वसुन्धरा संचचाल।”

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरबोधक-अव्यय (then/now)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (Brahmā)
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शार्वः: Śaiva
• शार्वः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śārva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘of Śarva (Śiva)’

• लिङ्गः: liṅga (emblem)
• लिङ्गः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महर्षिभिः: by the great sages
• महर्षिभिः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maharṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• पातितः: was cast down
• पातितः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātita (प्रातिपदिक; √pat + णिच् + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘caused to fall/was made to fall’

• तस्य: of it/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• भारार्ता: afflicted by the burden
• भारार्ता: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhārārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भारेण आर्ता), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संचचाल: shook/moved
• संचचाल: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√cal (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• वसुंधरा: the earth
• वसुंधरा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasuṃdharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speakers

• Hari (Viṣṇu) → addressed to “brahman” (interlocutor not specified in excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Vaishnavism
• Sectarian harmony
• Liṅga worship
• Cosmic stability (Earth burden)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even a ‘ritual/theological’ object (liṅga) is presented as cosmically consequential: sacred symbols are not merely local but participate in maintaining order. The ethical subtext is reverence and careful handling of sacred institutions, since disorder follows their disruption.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily Ākhyāna (episode narration) that may support dharma/ritual instruction elsewhere. It is not direct sarga/pratisarga, but it gestures to cosmological causality (Earth trembling) embedded within narrative.

What is the symbolic significance?

A Śaiva liṅga affecting the whole Earth, while explained by Hari, dramatizes non-sectarian theology: Viṣṇu acknowledges Śiva’s emblem as world-supporting. The ‘weight’ motif symbolizes the gravity of dharma and the tangible force of sacred presence.