Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 98

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

यद् बाल्ये यच्च कौमारे यत् पापं यौवने मम वयःपरिणतौ यच्च यच्च जन्मातरे कृतम्

Transliteration

yad bālye yacca kaumāre yat pāpaṃ yauvane mama vayaḥpariṇatau yacca yacca janmātare kṛtam

Translation

బాల్యంలో, కౌమార్యంలో, యౌవనంలో, వయస్సు పరిణామంలో (పక్వత/క్షయ దశలో), అలాగే ఇతర జన్మలో నేను చేసిన ఏ పాపమైతే ఉందో అది అంతా తొలగిపోవుగాక।

Speakers

• Unspecified; reads as a first-person confessional formula used in tirtha-prayashchitta contexts.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Karmic continuity across life-stages and rebirth
• Comprehensive confession
• Tirtha-based expiation
• Moral self-audit

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why list sins by life-stage (childhood, youth, maturity)?

It functions as a totalizing confession: moral agency spans all stages, including times of immaturity and passion. The structure ensures no period is excluded from the expiatory intent of the rite.

What is the significance of ‘janmātare kṛtam’ (done in another birth)?

It explicitly invokes rebirth and latent karmic residue. In Purāṇic tīrtha theology, certain sacred places are said to attenuate even long-stored karmic burdens, hence the inclusion of past-life acts.

Is this verse a standalone teaching or part of a ritual sequence?

Its grammar and first-person enumeration align with snāna-prārthanā (bathing prayer) sequences: one names categories of pāpa and then (as in adjacent verses) petitions their dissolution through the tīrtha’s sanctifying power.