Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 42
Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti
देवं सार्ङ्गधरं विष्णुं ये प्रपन्नाः परायणम् न तेषां यमसालोक्यं न च ते नरकौकसः
devaṃ sārṅgadharaṃ viṣṇuṃ ye prapannāḥ parāyaṇam na teṣāṃ yamasālokyaṃ na ca te narakaukasaḥ
[{"question": "How is Bali an example of ‘siddhi’ through elders’ counsel?", "answer": "Within the broader Vāmana–Bali cycle, Bali’s ‘siddhi’ is not merely worldly victory but the attainment of an exalted state through adherence to dharma—especially truthfulness, generosity, and submission to rightful authority. The verse uses him as a model that right guidance, when heard and enacted, yields decisive fruition."}, {"question": "Does ‘siddhi’ mean yogic powers here?", "answer": "Not necessarily. In nīti passages, siddhi commonly means successful outcome/attainment of one’s proper end. The Purāṇic context allows a layered sense: ethical success in action and, ultimately, spiritual elevation through dharmic alignment."}, {"question": "What is the practical instruction encoded in the two verbs ‘śṛṇuyāt’ and ‘vidadhāti’?", "answer": "The teaching is twofold: (1) receptive listening to qualified counsel (śravaṇa), and (2) implementation (anuṣṭhāna). The Purāṇa emphasizes that counsel without practice does not rescue one from ‘āpaj-jala’ (68.70)."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse asserts bhakti-based exemption from punitive post-mortem adjudication: surrender to Viṣṇu (prapatti/śaraṇāgati) is presented as a direct salvific path that bypasses the karmic route leading to Yama-loka and Naraka.
No. Sālokya can be a form of proximity to a deity, but here it is explicitly Yama’s world, associated with judgment and retribution. The verse denies even that destination, implying the devotee’s trajectory is toward Viṣṇu’s auspicious state rather than Yama’s jurisdiction.
Not in this śloka. The Vāmana Purāṇa often ties merit to tīrthas, but this unit is a theological statement about refuge in Viṣṇu; the only ‘places’ named are cosmological/otherworldly (Yama-loka, Naraka).