Vamana Purana — Vishnu's Sleep (Ashunya-Shayana), Shloka 53

The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows

Devanagari script

धूपं सर्जाज्ययुक्तं च नैवेद्यं सफलं घृतम् नामजप्यमपीशस्य कालघ्नेति विपश्चिता

Transliteration

dhūpaṃ sarjājyayuktaṃ ca naivedyaṃ saphalaṃ ghṛtam nāmajapyamapīśasya kālaghneti vipaścitā

Translation

พึงถวายธูปที่ผสมยางสรรชะและเนยใส และถวายไนเวทยะเป็นเนยใสพร้อมผลไม้ อีกทั้งการสวดนามของพระอีศะด้วย—ตามความเห็นของบัณฑิต—เป็น ‘กาลฆนะ’ คือผู้ทำลายกาล (ความตาย/เคราะห์ร้าย)

Word by Word

• धूपम्: incense
• धूपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; item to be offered

• सर्ज-अज्य-युक्तम्: mixed with sarja-resin and ghee
• सर्ज-अज्य-युक्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्ज + अज्य + युक्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, √युज्)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifies dhūpam; compound: सर्जेण अज्येन च युक्तम् (instrumental sense)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• नैवेद्यम्: food-offering (naivedya)
• नैवेद्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैवेद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; item to be offered

• स-फलम्: with fruit
• स-फलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifies naivedyam/ghṛtam; ‘with fruit’

• घृतम्: ghee
• घृतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; item to be offered

• नाम-जप्यम्: name-recitation (to be chanted)
• नाम-जप्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् + जप्य (तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त from √जप्)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; gerundive (यत्): ‘to be recited’; तत्पुरुष: नाम्नः जप्यम्

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक अव्यय)

• ईशस्य: of the Lord
• ईशस्य: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; ‘of the Lord’

• कालघ्न: O Destroyer of Time (Kālaghna)
• कालघ्न: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालघ्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular; name/epithet used in mantra; तत्पुरुष: कालं हन्ति इति

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• विपश्चिता: by the wise one
• विपश्चिता: Karta (कर्ता/कर्ता-करण in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विपश्चित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; agent-instrument in passive/impersonal sense: ‘by the wise (it is stated)’

Speakers

• Not specified in input; commonly framed as Pulastya instructing Nārada in the Vāmana Purāṇa

Primary Deities

• Īśa (Īśvara/Śiva)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Bhakti (nāma-japa)
• Shaivism
• Merit and protection (kālaghna)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Devotion is expressed through both external offerings (incense, food) and internal practice (name-recitation). The verse elevates nāma-japa as spiritually potent—capable of overcoming fear of death and the anxieties bound to ‘kāla’ (time).

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This material aligns with ancillary Purāṇic instruction (ācāra/dharma, vrata-vidhi) rather than the five classical markers like sarga/pratisarga. In database terms it is best indexed under ‘dharma/ritual prescriptions’ embedded within the narrative frame.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Kālaghna’ implies that devotion transcends temporality: offerings symbolize surrender of sensory enjoyments, while nāma-japa symbolizes continuous remembrance, portrayed as the true antidote to mortality.