Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 27

Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

उदकुम्भाम्बुधेनुं च तालवृन्तं सुचन्दनम् त्रिविक्रमस्य प्रीत्यर्थं दातव्यं साधुभिः सदा

Transliteration

udakumbhāmbudhenuṃ ca tālavṛntaṃ sucandanam trivikramasya prītyarthaṃ dātavyaṃ sādhubhiḥ sadā

Translation

หม้อน้ำ อัมพุเธนู (ภาชนะ/ทานเพื่อจัดน้ำ) พัดใบตาล และจันทน์ชั้นดี—สาธุชนพึงถวายทานเสมอ เพื่อความพอพระทัยของพระตรีวิกรม

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (within the chapter’s prescriptive discourse on dāna); likely a narrator/ṛṣi instructing the listener.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Trivikrama)

Key Themes

• Dana (charity) as devotional offering
• Cooling/auspicious gifts (water, fan, sandalwood) as religious merit
• Bhakti expressed through prescribed upahāras
• Vishnu’s avatāra-veneration (Trivikrama)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are water, fan, and sandalwood singled out as gifts for Trivikrama?

These are ‘cooling’ and life-sustaining offerings: water preserves life, the fan relieves heat, and sandalwood is cooling and auspicious. In Purāṇic dāna-lists, such items symbolize compassion and public benefit, making them fitting for pleasing Viṣṇu in a cosmic form like Trivikrama.

What does ambudhenu mean here in practical terms?

In dāna vocabulary, ambudhenu is a conventional term for a water-supplying charitable gift—often a dedicated vessel/arrangement for providing water (especially to travelers/ascetics). Some traditions also treat it as a symbolic ‘cow’ made/represented through a water-pot and related items, emphasizing abundance like the wish-fulfilling cow.

Does this verse contain any tīrtha-geography data typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not directly. This verse is primarily prescriptive (dharma/dāna). Any geographical context would come from surrounding passages in the chapter, not from the verse itself.