Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 19

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

सुप्तश्चापि सुविश्रान्तो मध्याह्ने पुनरुत्यितः समपश्यदथायान्तं प्रेतं प्रेतशतैर्वृतम्

Transliteration

suptaścāpi suviśrānto madhyāhne punarutyitaḥ samapaśyadathāyāntaṃ pretaṃ pretaśatairvṛtam

Translation

เมื่อหลับและพักผ่อนอย่างเต็มที่แล้ว เขาตื่นขึ้นอีกครั้งในเวลาเที่ยงวัน; ครั้นนั้นเขาเห็นเปรตตนหนึ่งกำลังมา โดยมีเปรตนับร้อยล้อมรอบอยู่।

Speakers

• Primary narrator (contextually Pulastya) to Nārada.

Key Themes

• Preta lore and liminal spaces
• Noon as a narrative threshold
• Contrast of rest and sudden danger
• Pilgrimage hazards and unseen beings

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘preta’ signify in Purāṇic usage?

A ‘preta’ is typically a restless departed being—often one who has not attained proper post-death rites or resolution—depicted as moving in groups and haunting liminal terrains. The term can also signal a moral-cosmological warning about neglected dharma (e.g., śrāddha, charity, vows).

Why is the awakening specified as ‘midday’?

Midday (madhyāhna) functions as a liminal time-marker in many Sanskrit narratives—an interval of heat, stillness, and vulnerability—used to heighten the uncanny. Here it sharpens the transition from ordinary rest to extraordinary sight.

How might this preta-episode connect to tīrtha-mahātmya material?

Such episodes often motivate the revelation of a nearby sacred site, rite, or vow that grants protection, pacifies spirits, or confers merit. The geography of fear (wilderness, desert, liminal time) becomes a foil for the geography of refuge (tīrtha, deity, prescribed observance).