Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 4

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

ताभ्यां स्थिताभ्यां तत्रैव ऋषिपभ्यागमद् वनम् द्रष्टुं श्रिकण्ठमव्यक्तं गालवो नाम नामतः

Transliteration

tābhyāṃ sthitābhyāṃ tatraiva ṛṣipabhyāgamad vanam draṣṭuṃ śrikaṇṭhamavyaktaṃ gālavo nāma nāmataḥ

Translation

ताभ्यां तत्रैव स्थिताभ्यां गालवो नाम ऋषिः श्रीकण्ठमव्यक्तं द्रष्टुं वनमागमत्।

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing events to the listening sage(s) (contextual frame not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Śrīkaṇṭha)

Key Themes

• Darśana of the deity
• Śiva’s subtle/unmanifest presence
• Tīrtha/forest sanctity

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Śrīkaṇṭha here, and why is he called ‘avyakta’ (unmanifest)?

Śrīkaṇṭha is a well-known epithet of Śiva. The term ‘avyakta’ signals that the deity is not immediately visible in ordinary perception—either because he is present in a subtle form, concealed, or to be realized through purity, worship, and the sanctity of the place.

What is the narrative function of introducing the sage Gālava?

Gālava’s arrival provides an authoritative ṛṣi-figure who performs the correct tīrtha-protocol (approach, purification, worship). His actions model how a pilgrim or devotee should seek darśana at a sacred geography.

Does ‘vana’ indicate a specific pilgrimage site?

In this verse it only specifies a forest environment; the precise toponym is not given here. The subsequent verses (e.g., mention of Kālindī) begin to anchor the episode to a recognizable sacred landscape.