Vamana Purana — Merit of the Vamana Purana, Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

पाठात् संश्रवणाद् विप्र श्रावणादपि कस्यचित् सर्वपापानि नश्यन्ति वामनस्य सदा मुदे

Transliteration

pāṭhāt saṃśravaṇād vipra śrāvaṇādapi kasyacit sarvapāpāni naśyanti vāmanasya sadā mude

Translation

ดูก่อนพราหมณ์ ด้วยการสวดอ่าน ด้วยการฟังอย่างตั้งใจ หรือแม้กระทั่งทำให้ผู้อื่นได้ฟัง—บาปทั้งปวงย่อมสิ้นไป เพื่อความปีติยินดีนิรันดร์ของวามนะ

Speakers

• Unspecified narrator/teacher addressing a brāhmaṇa interlocutor (vipra) within the chapter’s didactic frame

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Vamana

Key Themes

• Phalaśruti (merit of hearing/reciting)
• Bhakti (devotion)
• Pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin)
• Śravaṇa-kīrtana (hearing and recitation as sādhanā)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What practices are being praised here—reading, hearing, or teaching?

The verse explicitly lists three: (1) pāṭha—reciting/reading; (2) saṃśravaṇa—personally hearing with attention; and (3) śrāvaṇa—arranging for another to hear (e.g., sponsoring a recitation). All are treated as efficacious devotional acts.

Why does the text say ‘to the joy of Vāmana’?

It frames the merit as pleasing to the deity: the devotee’s engagement with the Vāmana narrative/stuti is itself an offering. The phrase also signals auspiciousness—Vāmana’s ‘mud’ implies the devotee’s welfare through divine favor.

Is this a tīrtha-related verse?

Not directly. Although the Vāmana Purāṇa often foregrounds sacred geography, this verse functions as a phalaśruti emphasizing bhakti-practice rather than naming a specific place.