Vamana Purana — Ritadhvaja Aids Galava, Shloka 22
Ritadhvaja’s Aid to Galava and Andhaka’s Infatuation with Gauri
यदस्यास्तनुमध्याया न पिरष्वङ्गवानहम् अतो धिङ् मम रूपेण किं स्थिरेण प्रयोजनम्
yadasyāstanumadhyāyā na piraṣvaṅgavānaham ato dhiṅ mama rūpeṇa kiṃ sthireṇa prayojanam
‘ఈ సన్ననడుము సుందరిని నా పార్శ్వంలో ఆలింగనం చేయలేకపోతే, నా రూపానికి ధిక్కారం! ఈ దృఢదేహం వల్ల ఏమి ప్రయోజనం?’
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FAQs
The verse contrasts physical capability with its intended purpose: if he cannot protect or be united with the ‘slender-waisted’ woman, then strength and status are meaningless. This is a common Purāṇic and kāvya-style motif where power is judged by dharmic efficacy (protection, responsibility), not mere possession.
In these lines it functions as narrative psychology rather than explicit theology. The Vāmana Purāṇa often embeds moral reflection inside dramatic speech; here the focus is on personal failure and the ethics of guardianship/relationship, not on naming an avatāra-form.
Tanumadhyā is a conventional epithet for a woman of graceful form. In Purāṇic narrative it can indicate a beloved, a wife, or a woman under protection; the exact identity is clarified by surrounding verses (here, the next verse’s ‘mṛgalocanā’ continues the same referent).