Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Instructions to Bali, Shloka 69

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

Devanagari script

आपद्ग्राहगृहीतानां वृद्धाः सन्ति न पण्डिताः येषां मोक्ष्यितारे वै तेषां सान्तिर्न विद्यते

Transliteration

āpadgrāhagṛhītānāṃ vṛddhāḥ santi na paṇḍitāḥ yeṣāṃ mokṣyitāre vai teṣāṃ sāntirna vidyate

Translation

ผู้ที่ถูกจระเข้แห่งเคราะห์ร้ายคาบไว้ แม้มีผู้เฒ่าผู้แก่ก็ประหนึ่งมิได้ยกย่องว่าเป็นบัณฑิต; ผู้ใดไร้ผู้ช่วยให้พ้นภัย ผู้นั้นย่อมไม่พบความสงบ

Speakers

• Not specified in input (didactic voice within the narrative frame of Adhyāya 68).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāmana/Trivikrama—contextual)

Key Themes

• Authority of elders (vṛddha-vākya)
• Crisis ethics and counsel
• Dharma as practical guidance
• Metaphor of ‘grāha’ (crocodile) for danger

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is ‘grāha’ (crocodile/seizer) used here?

In Purāṇic idiom, grāha evokes a force that suddenly grips and drags one into danger (like a crocodile in water). The verse uses it as a vivid metaphor for āpad—calamity that overwhelms judgment—implying that rescue requires an external ‘mokṣitāra’, namely wise guidance.

Does the verse criticize elders or those in distress?

It does not deny the existence of elders; it laments that in crisis people behave ‘as if’ elders are not paṇḍitas—i.e., they ignore seasoned counsel. The absence of a ‘mokṣitāra’ is effectively the absence of heeded guidance, resulting in lack of śānti.

How does this fit the Vāmana Purāṇa’s moral agenda?

Even when the Purāṇa moves through myth and sacred geography, it repeatedly inserts nīti: dharma is preserved by listening to authoritative instruction (vṛddha-vākya), a principle later anchored by the example of Bali (68.71).