Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 49

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

सौवीरतिलपिण्याकसक्तुशाकादिभोनैः क्षपयामि कदन्नाद्यैरात्मानं कालयापनैः

Transliteration

sauvīratilapiṇyākasaktuśākādibhonaiḥ kṣapayāmi kadannādyairātmānaṃ kālayāpanaiḥ

Translation

சௌவீரம், எள்ளுக் கழிவு, சத்து, கீரை முதலியவை—காலம் கடத்துவதற்கான இழிந்த உணவுகள்—இவற்றால் நான் உடலைச் சிதைக்கிறVamana Purana,55,30,VamP 55.30,evaṃ triśulaṃ ca dadhāra viṣṇuścakraṃ trinetro 'pyarisūdanārtham yatrāghahantrī hyabhavad vitastā harāṅghripātācchiśirācalāttu,एवं त्रिशुलं च दधार विष्णुश्चक्रं त्रिनेत्रो ऽप्यरिसूदनार्थम् यत्राघहन्त्री ह्यभवद् वितस्ता हराङ्घ्रिपाताच्छिशिराचलात्तु,Saromahatmya / Tirtha-Mahatmya Cycle (Himavat–Vitastā Context),Tirtha Mahima (origin of a river; sin-destroying power) with Hari-Hara symbolism,Adhyaya 55 (Tirtha-prasanga around Vitastā and Himavat; exact traditional chapter-title varies by recension),30,evaṃ triśulaṃ ca dadhāra viṣṇuścakraṃ trinetro 'pyarisūdanārtham yatrāghahantrī hyabhavad vitastā harāṅghripātācchiśirācalāttu,evaṃ triśūlaṃ ca dadhāra viṣṇuś cakraṃ trinetro ’py ari-sūdanārtham | yatrāgha-hantrī hy abhavad vitastā harāṅghri-pātāc chiśirācalāt tu ||,Thus Viṣṇu took up the trident

Speakers

• Unspecified in prompt; first-person voice of a sufferer/penitent continuing the confession in Adhyaya 53.

Key Themes

• Austerity through poverty-like diet
• Karmic retribution and bodily wasting
• Subsistence vs. dharmic flourishing

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Are these foods markers of asceticism or destitution?

They can signal both. In Purāṇic rhetoric, listing coarse foods (oil-cake, saktu, greens) often depicts either forced poverty (pāpa-phala) or deliberate austerity; the phrase ‘kāla-yāpanaiḥ’ leans toward mere survival rather than chosen tapas.

What is the nuance of ‘kṣapayāmi ātmānam’?

It suggests the body is being ‘worn down’—either by illness, hardship, or penitential living—reinforcing the speaker’s degraded state and the urgency for purification or refuge.

Does this verse contribute to the geography emphasis of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Indirectly. While no place-name appears here, such confessional passages commonly frame why a particular tīrtha (named elsewhere in the chapter) is sought for relief, expiation, or merit.