Vamana Purana — Akhanda Ekadashi Vrata, Shloka 21

Akhaṇḍa-Ekādaśī Vrata and the Vaiṣṇava Protective Hymn; Prelude to the Kātyāyanī–Mahiṣāsura Narrative

Devanagari script

नमो ऽस्तु ते पद्मनाभ पद्माधव महाद्युते धर्मार्थकाममोक्षणि त्वखण्डानि भवन्तु मे

Transliteration

namo 'stu te padmanābha padmādhava mahādyute dharmārthakāmamokṣaṇi tvakhaṇḍāni bhavantu me

Translation

ஓ பத்மநாபா, ஓ பத்மாதவா, ஓ மஹாத்யுதியே! உமக்கு நமஸ்காரம். எனக்கு தர்மம், அர்த்தம், காமம், மோக்ஷம் ஆகியவை அఖண்டமாக (தடையின்றி) நிலைத்திருக்கட்டும்.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), interjection/particle of salutation

• अस्तु: may it be
• अस्तु: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive use), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी/षष्ठी एकवचन; here चतुर्थी (Dative) ‘to you’

• पद्मनाभ: O Padmanābha
• पद्मनाभ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma-nābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• पद्माधव: O Padmādhava
• पद्माधव: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma-ādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; epithet of Viṣṇu

• महाद्युते: O great-lustrous one
• महाद्युते: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-dyuti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महती द्युतिः यस्य)

• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षणि: in dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa
• धर्मार्थकाममोक्षणि: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (धर्म+अर्थ+काम+मोक्ष), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; ‘in/with regard to dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa’

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; particle (emphasis/contrast)

• अखण्डानि: unbroken, complete
• अखण्डानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; adjective qualifying (फलानि/सिद्धयः implied)

• भवन्तु: may they become
• भवन्तु: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• मे: for me
• मे: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; ‘of me/for me’

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (mantra presented for recitation; speaker of mantra is the worshipper)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Lakshmi (implicit via Padmādhava)

Key Themes

• Bhakti
• Mantra
• Puruṣārthas (dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa)
• Vaishnavism
• Vrata/Rituals

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic devotion seeks a harmonized life: worldly goods (artha), regulated desire (kāma), ethical grounding (dharma), and ultimate freedom (mokṣa). The prayer asks not for excess, but for ‘akhaṇḍatā’—integrity and unobstructed alignment of these aims.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is a stuti/mantra embedded in dharma-ācāra material; it functions as practical sādhanā guidance rather than cosmogenesis or dynastic history (the usual pañcalakṣaṇa headings).

What is the symbolic significance?

Invoking Padmanābha/Padmādhava links cosmic stability (the lotus/navel imagery of ordered creation) with prosperity and grace (Padmā/Lakṣmī). ‘Akhaṇḍa’ suggests wholeness: spiritual progress without ethical fracture or inner conflict.