Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 53

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

देहं त्यक्त्वा निरालम्बं काष्टवद् देविकाजले क्षणान्मज्जंस्तथोन्मज्जन्मुक्तकेशो यदृच्छया

Transliteration

dehaṃ tyaktvā nirālambaṃ kāṣṭavad devikājale kṣaṇānmajjaṃstathonmajjanmuktakeśo yadṛcchayā

Translation

{"scene_description": "Vishnu prophesies that the Daityas will lose their radiance when he enters Aditi’s womb; shadowed asura silhouettes contrasted with rising divine light.", "primary_figures": ["Vishnu", "Aditi"], "setting": "Celestial interior with symbolic horizon showing dimming asura tejas and brightening deva aura.", "color_palette": ["golden white", "indigo", "crimson accents", "smoky gray"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore, Vishnu radiant with gold leaf, Aditi listening, background vignette of asuras losing luster (darkened halos), ornate frame, high-contrast divine light.", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature, soft gradients showing fading asura glow in distant panel, Vishnu speaking to Aditi, delicate narrative split-scene, pastel sky.", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural, bold Vishnu and Aditi, stylized asura figures with diminished aura in side register, temple palette and symmetry.", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra, sequential storytelling: panel of Vishnu entering womb and panel of daityas with fading tejas, patterned borders, folk iconography."}

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Narratorial description within the chapter’s tirtha episode (speaker not explicit in provided excerpt).

Key Themes

• Tirtha Mahima
• Ritual purification through sacred waters
• Loss of agency/trance-like state
• Auspicious/inauspicious bodily signs (loosened hair)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does ‘dehaṃ tyaktvā’ mean the person died in the river?

Not necessarily. In Purāṇic narrative, ‘abandoning the body’ can denote surrendering bodily control—fainting, entering a trance, or becoming helpless—especially when followed by ‘sinking and rising again,’ which implies continued life.

Why is ‘mukta-keśa’ (loosened hair) mentioned?

Loosened hair is a vivid marker of altered state—distress, possession/trance, or the disarray associated with sudden immersion. In tīrtha contexts it can also underscore the raw, unguarded condition of the bather before purification.

What is the geographical significance of Devikā here?

Devikā is treated as a named sacred water-body (river/tīrtha). The verse frames Devikā’s current as powerful enough to carry a person ‘like a log,’ reinforcing the site’s physical reality and its ritual prominence in the chapter’s geography-focused narration.