Shloka 19

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

पद्भ्यां भूमिस्तथा जङ्घे नभस्त्रैलोक्यवन्दितः सत्यं तपो जानुयुग्मे ऊरुभ्यां मेरुमन्दरौ

Transliteration

padbhyāṃ bhūmistathā jaṅghe nabhastrailokyavanditaḥ satyaṃ tapo jānuyugme ūrubhyāṃ merumandarau

Translation

அவருடைய பாதங்களிலிருந்து பூமி; சுண்டைக்கால்களிலிருந்து உலகங்கள்; தொடைகளிலிருந்து மூன்று உலகங்களாலும் வணங்கப்படும் ஆகாயம் வெளிப்பட்டது. இரு முழங்கால்களில் சத்தியமும் தவமும் உறைகின்றன; இரு தொடைகளிலிருந்து மேரு, மந்தர மலைகள் தோன்றின.

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (context likely a narrator/ṛṣi explaining a cosmic mapping).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (implied cosmic person)

Key Themes

• Cosmic anatomy (microcosm–macrocosm correspondence)
• Cosmography as sacred geography
• Ethical principles embedded in cosmic order (Satya, Tapas)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Satya (truth) and Tapas (austerity) placed specifically at the knees?

In Purāṇic ‘body-as-cosmos’ schemata, joints symbolize stability and support. Knees bear the body’s weight and enable movement; similarly, satya and tapas are portrayed as sustaining dharma and enabling spiritual progress—supporting the worlds like a cosmic ‘hinge’.

What is the significance of naming Meru and Mandara together?

Meru functions as the axial world-mountain in Purāṇic cosmography, while Mandara is famed as the churning mountain (samudra-manthana) and also appears as a sacred mountain. Pairing them emphasizes that multiple paradigmatic ‘world-mountains’ are grounded in the same cosmic source.

Is this verse describing a specific deity’s body (Vishnu, Shiva, or the generic Puruṣa)?

The verse uses a Virāṭ/Puruṣa-style mapping without explicit sectarian markers. In the Vāmana Purāṇa’s cosmographic-tīrtha discourse, such mappings often function as a universal template that can be read as Vishnu’s cosmic form, while remaining broadly ‘Puruṣa’ in diction.