Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 51

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

आबाल्यान्मम पापेषु न धर्मेषु रतं मनः तत्पापासंक्षयान्मोक्षं प्राप्नुयां येन तद् वद

Transliteration

ābālyānmama pāpeṣu na dharmeṣu rataṃ manaḥ tatpāpāsaṃkṣayānmokṣaṃ prāpnuyāṃ yena tad vada

Translation

ตั้งแต่วัยเยาว์ จิตของเราหมกมุ่นในบาป มิได้ยินดีในธรรม จงบอกหนทางที่ทำให้บาปเหล่านั้นสิ้นไป และเราจะบรรลุโมกษะได้

Speakers

• Unspecified petitioner/sufferer addressing a dvija (brahmin) interlocutor (continued explicitly in 59.52).

Key Themes

• Confession and repentance
• Karmic demerit and purification
• Mokṣa as goal
• Role of a brāhmaṇa teacher (dvija)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the speaker emphasize ‘from childhood’ (ābālyāt)?

It frames the problem as long-standing saṃskāra (habitual conditioning), implying that ordinary, sporadic merit may be insufficient; hence the request is for a decisive purificatory means (often tīrtha-snāna, vrata, dāna, japa, or śiva/viṣṇu-bhakti in Purāṇic idiom).

Is mokṣa here presented as attainable through ‘sin-destruction’ alone?

Purāṇas commonly describe mokṣa pragmatically: pāpa-kṣaya removes obstacles, enabling knowledge/bhakti and the fruition of grace. The verse asks for the upāya that effects pāpa-saṃkṣaya leading to mokṣa, not merely moral improvement.

What is the implied setting of this request in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Adhyāya 59 is situated in the Saro-mahātmya stream, where liberation is frequently linked to sacred geography (tīrthas) and their prescribed observances; the speaker seeks the specific prescription from a dvija authority.