Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 3

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

तेनैव कर्मदोषेम स्वेन पापकृतां वरः क्रुरैश्चक्रे ततो वृत्तिं राक्षसत्वाद् विशेषतः

Transliteration

tenaiva karmadoṣema svena pāpakṛtāṃ varaḥ kruraiścakre tato vṛttiṃ rākṣasatvād viśeṣataḥ

Translation

அதே கர்மதோஷம்—தன் பாவச் செயல்களின் விளைவு—மூலமாக, பாவிகளில் முதன்மையானவனாகிய அவன், குறிப்பாக ராக்ஷசத் தன்மையால், பின்னர் கொடூரமான வாழ்வாதாரத்தை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டான்.

Speakers

• Narrator continuing the karmic characterization of the niśācara/rākṣasa figure within the Adhyaya.

Key Themes

• Agency and moral responsibility (svena)
• Karmic causality (karma-doṣa)
• Rākṣasa-dharma as degeneration of conduct
• Cruelty as a lifestyle (krūra-vṛtti)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Is the verse teaching determinism (born a rākṣasa, therefore cruel) or moral agency?

Both strands are present but the emphasis is on agency: ‘svena’ (‘by his own’) and ‘karma-doṣa’ frame the rākṣasa condition as the fruit of prior choices. ‘Rākṣasatva’ then describes how that karmic embodiment reinforces a cruel ‘vṛtti’ (habitual conduct).

What does ‘vṛtti’ mean in a Purāṇic ethical context?

Vṛtti is not merely occupation; it is a sustained pattern of behavior—how one lives day to day. Here it indicates a settled, cruel mode of life consistent with adharma.

Why call him ‘pāpakṛtāṃ varaḥ’ (foremost among sinners)?

It is a rhetorical intensifier used in Purāṇic narration to mark exemplary moral failure. The figure becomes a cautionary type: one whose accumulated wrongdoing culminates in demonic embodiment and conduct.