Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 60

Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology

Devanagari script

मुरस्तद्वाक्यमाकर्ण्य प्राह गच्छामि केशवम् किं तु त्वया न तावद्धि संयम्या धर्म मानवाः

Transliteration

murastadvākyamākarṇya prāha gacchāmi keśavam kiṃ tu tvayā na tāvaddhi saṃyamyā dharma mānavāḥ

Translation

அந்த வார்த்தைகளை கேட்ட முறை கூறினான்—“நான் கேசவனை அணுகுவேன். ஆனால் முதலில், ஓ தர்மா, உன்னால் மனிதர்கள் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் (சம்யமத்தில்) வைக்கப்பட வேண்டும்.”

Speakers

• Mura to Yama (addressing him as Dharma)

Primary Deities

• Yama
• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Dharma as social restraint (saṃyama)
• Daitya’s rhetorical challenge to moral governance
• Hierarchy of cosmic authority: Yama/Dharma vs Keśava

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Mura address Yama as ‘Dharma’?

Yama is frequently identified with Dharma in Purāṇic literature as the regulator who ‘restrains’ beings through moral law and the consequences of action. Mura’s address exploits that role to issue a taunt or challenge.

What is Mura implying by ‘humans should be restrained first’?

He insinuates that human wrongdoing merits Yama’s attention before any attempt to confront the divine. It is a polemical move: deflecting from his own aggression by accusing humans of moral disorder, while still declaring his intent to approach Keśava.

Does this verse add any geographical data relevant to Vāmana Purāṇa’s sacred geography focus?

No new rivers/tīrthas are named here. Its contribution is thematic: it frames dharma (saṃyama) as a cosmic function administered by Yama, set against the supreme locus of Viṣṇu described just prior (Kṣīroda-sāgara).