Vamana Purana — Slaying of Raktabija, Shloka 15

The Slaying of Raktabīja and Niśumbha–Śumbha; the Manifestation of the Mātṛkās and the Devas’ Hymn

Devanagari script

यजन्तु ब्राह्मणाद्यामी वर्णा यज्ञांश्च साम्प्रतम् नोचेद् बलावलेपेन भवन्तो योद्धुमिच्छथ

Transliteration

yajantu brāhmaṇādyāmī varṇā yajñāṃśca sāmpratam noced balāvalepena bhavanto yoddhumicchatha

Translation

บัดนี้ให้วรรณะทั้งหลายเริ่มด้วยพราหมณ์ประกอบยัญพิธีทั้งปวงเถิด มิฉะนั้น หากพวกท่านประสงค์จะรบด้วยความทะนงในกำลัง…

Word by Word

• यजन्तु: let them worship/sacrifice
• यजन्तु: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यज् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मण-आद्याः: Brahmins and others
• ब्राह्मण-आद्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘ब्राह्मणः आदिः येषाम्’ (beginning with Brahmins)

• अमी: these (people)
• अमी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (these)

• वर्णाः: social classes/varṇas
• वर्णाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• यज्ञान्: sacrifices
• यज्ञान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• साम्प्रतम्: now
• साम्प्रतम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साम्प्रतम् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: ‘now/at present’)

• नो: not
• नो: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय; ‘न’ (negation)

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional ‘if’)

• बल-अवलेपेन: through pride of strength
• बल-अवलेपेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल-अवलेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• भवन्तः: you (honorific, plural)
• भवन्तः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; आदरार्थक 2nd-person reference (honorific ‘you’)

• योद्धुम्: to fight
• योद्धुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: युध् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन् (Infinitive)

• इच्छथ: you (pl.) desire
• इच्छथ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्/इच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

Speakers

• Devī’s instruction (as ultimatum) addressed to the asuras
• with the intended outcome being restoration of Vedic rites among the varṇas

Primary Deities

• Devī

Key Themes

• Yajña as cosmic maintenance
• Varṇa-dharma / social order
• Choice between submission and war
• Condemnation of strength-based arrogance (bala-avalepa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the ultimatum mention brāhmaṇas and yajña in a battle narrative?

Purāṇic theology links political/cosmic stability to yajña and dharma. Asura domination is portrayed as disrupting sacrificial order; Devī’s victory is framed as restoring ritual and social norms that sustain the worlds.

Does this verse endorse a specific social ideology?

It reflects the Purāṇic varṇa–yajña paradigm: society’s ordered duties are presented as a religious technology for maintaining ṛta/dharma. Scholarly reading treats it as a normative voice of the text’s milieu rather than a universal sociological description.

What is the rhetorical function of ‘bala-avalepa’ (pride of strength)?

It marks the asuras’ motive as hubris rather than justice, contrasting dharmic submission (allowing yajña to resume) with adharma-driven violence, thereby legitimizing the coming divine intervention.