Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 17
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
स वायुपथमास्थाय धर्मराजकरे स्थितः जज्वाल कालग्निनिभो यद्वद् दग्धुं जगत्त्रयम्
sa vāyupathamāsthāya dharmarājakare sthitaḥ jajvāla kālagninibho yadvad dagdhuṃ jagattrayam
அது காற்றின் பாதையைப் பற்றிக் கொண்டு தர்மராஜனின் கையில் நிலைத்து, காலஅக்னியைப் போல எரிந்தது; மும்முலகையும் எரிக்கப் போவதுபோல்।
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FAQs
Dharma ultimately ‘contains’ and directs overwhelming force: even what seems world-burning is placed under the governance of Dharmarāja, implying that punishment and restraint are subordinated to cosmic law.
The verse uses pralaya-like imagery (kālāgni) but functions within character-narrative (Vaṃśānucarita/Carita). It is not a formal Pralaya description; rather, it borrows dissolution symbolism to heighten the battle’s intensity.
Kālāgni imagery signals the boundary between controlled power and annihilation. The object’s resting in Dharmarāja’s hand suggests that ultimate coercive power (daṇḍa) belongs to dharma, not to personal rage—an important Purāṇic ethic of regulated force.