Vamana Purana — Merit of the Vamana Purana, Shloka 11

The Merit of Hearing and Reciting the Vamana Purana (Phalaśruti)

Devanagari script

दुर्भिक्षसंपीडितपुत्रभार्ये यामी सदा पोषणतत्परे च देवाग्निविप्रर्षिरते च पित्रोः शुश्रुषके भ्रातरि ज्येष्ठसाम्ने यत्तत्फलं संप्रवदन्ति देवाः स तत् फलं लभते चास्य पाठात् // वम्प्_69.10 चतुर्दशं वामनमाहुरग्र्यं श्रुते च यस्याघचयाश्च नाशम् प्रयान्ति नास्त्यत्र च संशयो मे महान्ति पापान्यपि नारदाशु

Transliteration

durbhikṣasaṃpīḍitaputrabhārye yāmī sadā poṣaṇatatpare ca devāgniviprarṣirate ca pitroḥ śuśruṣake bhrātari jyeṣṭhasāmne yattatphalaṃ saṃpravadanti devāḥ sa tat phalaṃ labhate cāsya pāṭhāt // VamP_69.10 caturdaśaṃ vāmanamāhuragryaṃ śrute ca yasyāghacayāśca nāśam prayānti nāstyatra ca saṃśayo me mahānti pāpānyapi nāradāśu

Translation

ในกาลทุพภิกขภัย ผู้ใดถูกความทุกข์บีบคั้นพร้อมทั้งบุตรและภรรยา แต่ยังคงมุ่งมั่นเลี้ยงดูเขาเหล่านั้นเสมอ; ผู้ยินดีในการบำเพ็ญต่อเหล่าเทพ ไฟศักดิ์สิทธิ์ พราหมณ์ และฤๅษี; ผู้ปรนนิบัติบิดามารดา; และผู้รับใช้พี่ชายผู้ใหญ่—ผลบุญที่เหล่าเทพประกาศสำหรับความประพฤติเช่นนั้น ผู้นั้นย่อมได้ผลบุญนั้นเองด้วยการสวด/อ่านบทนี้. เขาเรียกกันว่า ‘บทที่สิบสี่อันประเสริฐแห่งวามนะ’; เพียงได้ฟังก็ทำให้กองบาปพินาศ—โอ้ นารท ข้าพเจ้าไม่สงสัยเลย แม้บาปใหญ่ก็สิ้นไปโดยเร็ว

Speakers

• Narrator-sage addressing Nārada (explicitly in the closing line)
• within the broader sage-to-sage transmission frame.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Agni

Key Themes

• Householder dharma under hardship (famine ethics)
• Support of dependents
• Service to parents and elders
• Merit equivalence: conduct vs recitation
• Sin-destruction through śravaṇa/pāṭha
• Purāṇic ‘section praise’ (agrya-caturdaśa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse highlight famine (durbhikṣa) specifically?

Famine is treated as a stress-test of dharma: when resources are scarce, sustaining dependents and continuing basic religious obligations becomes especially meritorious. The text frames endurance and responsibility (yāmī, poṣaṇa-tatpara) as exemplary righteousness.

How can mere recitation (pāṭha) yield the same fruit as difficult lifelong duties?

This is a classic Purāṇic phalaśruti strategy: it sacralizes the text itself as a conduit of merit. The claim does not negate ethical duty; rather, it asserts that the narrative/section—linked here to Vāmana—functions as a powerful purifier, especially for those unable to perform extensive rites.

What is meant by ‘caturdaśaṃ vāmanam āhur agryam’ (‘the excellent Fourteenth of Vāmana’)?

Many Purāṇas contain internal numbering of praised units (a chapter, subsection, or set of verses). Here ‘caturdaśa’ likely refers to a traditionally counted passage within a Vāmana-centered corpus or within a local recitation tradition. The key point is its status as ‘agrya’ (preeminent) and its asserted power to destroy accumulated sin upon hearing.