Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 78

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

Devanagari script

ब्रह्म भूत्वा जगत् सर्वं सदेवासुरमानुषम् यः सृजत्यच्युतो देवस्तमस्मि शरणं गतः

Transliteration

brahma bhūtvā jagat sarvaṃ sadevāsuramānuṣam yaḥ sṛjatyacyuto devastamasmi śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

Translation

Having become Brahmā, that Acyuta Deva who creates the entire universe—together with gods, asuras, and humans—to Him I have gone for refuge.

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (a devotee/narrator voice offering śaraṇāgati to Viṣṇu/Janārdana within Adhyaya 59).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Acyuta/Janardana)
• Brahma (as role/aspect)

Key Themes

• Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge)
• Hari as inner controller of creation
• Trimūrti integration (Viṣṇu as Brahmā-function)
• Cosmic creation (sṛṣṭi)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does the verse claim that Viṣṇu literally becomes Brahmā, or that He empowers Brahmā?

The phrasing 'brahma bhūtvā' supports a Purāṇic theological idiom where Viṣṇu is the ultimate source who either assumes the creator-function or manifests/empowers Brahmā as His office. The intent is supremacy and causality: creation proceeds from Acyuta.

Why list devas, asuras, and humans specifically?

It signals totality across moral and ontological categories—celestial, anti-celestial, and terrestrial—indicating that all beings within saṃsāra are included in the created order and thus under the same divine source.

What is the devotional force of 'śaraṇaṃ gataḥ' here?

It is a formal declaration of surrender: the speaker grounds refuge not in a limited deity of one function, but in the transcendent Lord who underlies even the creator-role, making Him the most reliable shelter.