Vamana Purana — Narada Questions Pulastya, Shloka 25

Narada Questions Pulastya: The Vamana Purana Begins and Satī’s Monsoon Lament

Devanagari script

ममोपवीतं भुजगेश्वरः शुभे कर्णे ऽपि पद्मश्च तथैव पिङ्गलः केयूरमेकं मम कम्बलस्त्वहिर्द्वितीयमन्यो भुजगो धनञ्जयः

Transliteration

mamopavītaṃ bhujageśvaraḥ śubhe karṇe 'pi padmaśca tathaiva piṅgalaḥ keyūramekaṃ mama kambalastvahirdvitīyamanyo bhujago dhanañjayaḥ

Translation

ดูก่อนผู้เป็นมงคล พญานาคคืออุปวีต (สายศักดิ์สิทธิ์) ของเรา; ที่หูของเรามีปัทมะและปิงคละ. กำไลต้นแขนข้างหนึ่งของเราคือนาคกัมพล; กำไลอีกข้างคือนาคอีกตนชื่อธนัญชัย.

Word by Word

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Ṣaṣṭhī (gen), Ekavacana

• upavītam: sacred thread
• upavītam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upavīta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakalिङ्ग (neut), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana

• bhujaga-īśvaraḥ: the lord of serpents
• bhujaga-īśvaraḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhujaga + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘lord of serpents’ (a serpent) in apposition to upavītam

• śubhe: O auspicious one
• śubhe: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubhā/śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (fem), Sambodhana (vocative), Ekavacana

• karṇe: in the ear
• karṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Saptamī (loc), Ekavacana

• api: also/even
• api: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle) meaning ‘also/even’

• padmaḥ: a lotus (ornament)
• padmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; (ear-ornament)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb ‘likewise’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle

• piṅgalaḥ: tawny/yellowish
• piṅgalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: piṅgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; adjective/predicate to padmaḥ or implied ornament

• keyūram: armlet
• keyūram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keyūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakalिङ्ग (neut), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana

• ekam: one
• ekam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakalिङ्ग (neut), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; numeral adjective qualifying keyūram

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Ṣaṣṭhī (gen), Ekavacana

• kambalaḥ: blanket
• kambalaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kambala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana

• tu: but
• tu: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle ‘but/indeed’

• ahiḥ: a serpent
• ahiḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; in apposition to kambalaḥ

• dvitīyam: the second
• dvitīyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakalिङ्ग (neut), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; ordinal adjective qualifying (keyūram/kambalaḥ implied)

• anyaḥ: another
• anyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; adjective qualifying bhujagaḥ

• bhujagaḥ: serpent
• bhujagaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhujaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana

• dhanañjayaḥ: Dhanañjaya (name)
• dhanañjayaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanañjaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (nom), Ekavacana; proper name/epithet of a serpent

Speakers

• Likely a divine speaker describing their own ornaments (context suggests Śiva/Rudra speaking to Devī; exact frame not fully visible in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Iconography
• Sectarian Harmony (implicit, within a Purāṇa noted for synthesis)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse emphasizes the ascetic-divine ideal where worldly luxury is replaced by natural, fearsome, and symbolic ornaments—signifying mastery over fear, poison, and death, and the transmutation of danger into adornment.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily ancillary narrative/description within Vamśānucarita/Ākhyāna-style sections rather than core Sarga/Pratisarga; it supports theological characterization (devatā-svarūpa-varṇana).

What is the symbolic significance?

Serpents signify time (kāla), mortality, and latent power (kuṇḍalinī/tejas). Wearing them as upavīta and ornaments marks the deity as sovereign over these forces and as the one who integrates opposites—terror and beauty, poison and protection.