Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 3

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

Devanagari script

उपवासादिकं कार्यं कस्यां तिथ्यां महोदयम् कानि पुण्यानि शस्तानि विष्णोस्तुष्टिप्रदानि वै

Transliteration

upavāsādikaṃ kāryaṃ kasyāṃ tithyāṃ mahodayam kāni puṇyāni śastāni viṣṇostuṣṭipradāni vai

Translation

ควรถืออุโบสถและปฏิบัติพรตในวันตถิใดจึงจะบังเกิด “มหาอุทัย” อันยิ่งใหญ่? และกุศลกรรมใดบ้างที่สรรเสริญว่าเป็นเหตุให้พระวิษณุทรงพอพระทัย?

Speakers

• Bali to (the narrator/teacher in the dialogue context of the Vāmana–Bali cycle)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Vrata and calendrical piety (tithi-based observance)
• Upavāsa as discipline
• Merit (puṇya) and divine pleasure (tuṣṭi)
• Ritual time as sacred power

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘mahodaya’ suggest in vrata contexts?

Mahodaya signals an observance that yields unusually high auspiciousness or merit—often due to a special tithi, conjunction, or scripturally praised timing. The verse sets up a teaching on which calendrical moments amplify the fruit of fasting and allied disciplines.

Are ‘puṇyāni’ here limited to ritual acts, or do they include ethical conduct?

Purāṇic lists of puṇya typically include both: ritual (fasts, worship, tīrtha-bathing, japa) and ethical/social dharma (truthfulness, non-injury, hospitality, charity). Bali’s phrasing ‘viṣṇoḥ tuṣṭi-pradāni’ invites emphasis on acts that embody devotion and compassion, not merely formalism.

Is any sacred geography encoded in this verse through tithi references?

No direct geography is present. Tithi is temporal sacredness rather than spatial. If later verses connect specific tithis with specific tīrthas (a common Purāṇic pattern), that linkage would supply the geography; this verse itself is purely interrogative.