Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 76
The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites
दास्ते गृहं हिरण्यं च वाजिनः स्यन्दनान् गजान् प्रयच्छाम्यद्य भवतो व्रियतामीप्सितं विभो
dāste gṛhaṃ hiraṇyaṃ ca vājinaḥ syandanān gajān prayacchāmyadya bhavato vriyatāmīpsitaṃ vibho
[{"question": "Why are Rudra and Agni listed alongside Indra in a passage about losing Svarga?", "answer": "Purāṇic battle catalogues often present a ‘full divine coalition’ to magnify the Daityas’ apparent prowess. Naming Rudra and Agni signals that even major cosmic powers were checked, heightening the narrative need for Viṣṇu’s intervention."}, {"question": "Does “Māruta” here mean Vāyu or the Maruts?", "answer": "Both usages exist. In compact lists with Indra–Rudra–Agni, “Māruta” commonly points to the wind principle (Vāyu) or the Marut host associated with Indra. The verse’s grammar allows either, but the sense is ‘the wind-power(s) allied with the Devas.’"}, {"question": "What is the significance of ‘bhagna-darpā’ (pride shattered)?", "answer": "It is a moral-psychological marker: the Devas’ defeat is not only territorial (loss of Svarga) but also a blow to status and self-regard, setting up the dharmic restoration motif typical of the Vāmana cycle."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
These are classic emblems of royal power and wealth (rājya-śrī). By offering them freely, Bali demonstrates that his dāna is not marginal but touches the very instruments of sovereignty.
In this context it functions as a respectful vocative—“venerable/mighty sir”—addressed to the Brahmin recipient. In avatāra narratives, such honorifics can also carry dramatic irony when the ‘Brahmin’ is Vishnu in disguise, though that identification is not explicit in this verse.
No. It is a gift-enumeration verse within the Bali narrative and contains no explicit toponyms (rivers, tirthas, forests, or regions).