Vamana Purana — Vamana's Birth, Shloka 10

Vamana’s Birth during Bali’s Horse-Sacrifice and the Mapping of Vishnu’s Sacred Presences

Devanagari script

जगमुस्ततो ऽपि ते ब्रह्मन् कथयन्तः परस्परम् चिन्तयन्तश्च सततं किमेतदिति विस्मिताः

Transliteration

jagamustato 'pi te brahman kathayantaḥ parasparam cintayantaśca satataṃ kimetaditi vismitāḥ

Translation

ततः तेऽपि ब्रह्मन् परस्परं कथयन्तो जग्मुः; सततं चिन्तयन्तः ‘किमेतत्’ इति विस्मिताः।

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a Brāhmaṇa interlocutor (within the larger Purāṇic frame); the ṛṣis are the acting subjects.

Key Themes

• Pilgrimage progression (tīrtha-yātrā)
• Collective inquiry among sages
• Adbhuta as a cue for hidden sacred geography

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the narrator address ‘brahman’ here?

It signals the Purāṇic dialogic frame: the storyteller turns to the listener (a Brāhmaṇa/ṛṣi) to maintain the conversational cadence typical of Purāṇas, even while describing the sages’ actions.

What does ‘kim etad’ imply about the tīrtha experience?

It conveys that the sages have encountered an anomalous sign—often a miraculous vision, altered landscape, or divine trace—prompting interpretive discussion, which the text will typically resolve by revealing the site’s name and mythic origin.

Does this verse indicate a specific direction or destination?

No. It only indicates onward movement from the bathing spot; the next verse begins to specify the landscape they see (a vast forest-grove).