Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 75

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

Devanagari script

स्वधर्मकर्मवृत्तिस्थः श्रवणद्वादशीरतः कालधर्ममवाप्यासौ गुह्यकावासमाश्रयत्

Transliteration

svadharmakarmavṛttisthaḥ śravaṇadvādaśīrataḥ kāladharmamavāpyāsau guhyakāvāsamāśrayat

Translation

{"scene_description": "Śaṅkara (the pleased Lord) grants Viṣṇu a blazing, manifest Sudarśana cakra, radiant like a miniature sun, hovering between them as a divine boon.", "primary_figures": ["Śaṅkara (Śiva)", "Viṣṇu", "Sudarśana Cakra (personified radiance)"], "setting": "Mythic divine court or luminous sky-temple space; aura-filled, minimal earthly detail.", "color_palette": ["gold", "vermillion", "deep blue", "ash-white", "fiery orange"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore style, gold leaf halos, Śiva bestowing a radiant Sudarśana chakra to Viṣṇu, ornate jewelry, temple arch, rich reds and blues, high iconographic clarity, glowing discus like a sun, devotional composition", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature, soft pastels, delicate linework, Śiva offering a luminous chakra to Viṣṇu, serene divine landscape with pale mountains and clouds, subtle gold accents, intimate sacred exchange", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural, bold outlines, flat natural pigments, Śiva and Viṣṇu in frontal semi-profile, large expressive eyes, chakra as fiery mandala between them, temple-like backdrop, rhythmic ornamentation", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra scroll style, strong black outlines, narrative panel of Śiva gifting Sudarśana to Viṣṇu, patterned borders, flat natural dyes, stylized flames around the discus, folk-iconic symmetry"}

Speakers

• Narrator continuing the karmic biography of the same figure; the verse functions as a dharma-and-phala statement.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (implied by dvādaśī observance)
• Kubera (implied through Guhyakas)

Key Themes

• Svadharma and right conduct
• Vrata/observance (Dvādaśī)
• Inevitability of death (Kāla-dharma)
• Afterlife destinations and merit

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is ‘Śravaṇa-dvādaśī’ and why is it highlighted?

It is the dvādaśī tithi occurring in the month of Śrāvaṇa. Dvādaśī is widely treated as Viṣṇu-priya (dear to Viṣṇu) and is a common marker of vrata-based merit in Purāṇic narratives; the verse uses it as a concise indicator of sustained devotional discipline.

How should ‘kāla-dharma’ be understood—fate, death, or cosmic law?

All three are intertwined in Purāṇic diction. Here it most directly means ‘meeting death in due time,’ framed not as accident but as the ordained course of Kāla (Time), which no embodied being escapes.

Why does the merit lead specifically to ‘Guhyaka-āvāsa’?

Guhyakas are Kubera’s attendants and represent a prosperous, protected, semi-celestial station. The text presents it as an intermediate exalted realm attained through dharma and vrata, before further rebirth or liberation-oriented pursuits.