Vamana Purana — Vamana's Birth, Shloka 5

Vamana’s Birth during Bali’s Horse-Sacrifice and the Mapping of Vishnu’s Sacred Presences

Devanagari script

विज्ञाय तत्राप्यरतिं स्नात्वार्ऽच्य पितृदेवताः प्रजग्मुः किरणां पुण्यां दिनेशकिरणच्युताम्

Transliteration

vijñāya tatrāpyaratiṃ snātvār'cya pitṛdevatāḥ prajagmuḥ kiraṇāṃ puṇyāṃ dineśakiraṇacyutām

Translation

पुलस्त्य उवाच—ततः समागच्छति वासुदेवे मही चकम्पे, गिरयश्च चेलुः, समुद्राः क्षुब्धाः; दिवि च ऋक्षमण्डलं विपर्यस्तगतिरिव बभौ, हे महर्षे।

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Narrator describing the sages’ ritual actions and onward movement.

Primary Deities

• Surya
• Pitrs
• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Ritual completeness at tīrthas (snāna + pūjā)
• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa/ancestral rites in pilgrimage
• Solar sacrality (Sūrya-kiraṇa sambandha)
• Pilgrimage discernment (moving on when ‘arati’ persists)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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FAQs

What might ‘arati’ mean here—spiritual dissatisfaction or a practical obstacle?

Purāṇic usage allows both. In a tīrtha itinerary, ‘arati’ can indicate that the sages did not find the intended sanctity, auspicious signs, or ritual suitability at that stop; it can also hint at discomfort or inauspiciousness prompting them to continue to the correctly ‘charged’ tīrtha.

Why are Pitṛs worshipped alongside the devatās during river-pilgrimage?

Tīrthas are classic venues for śrāddha and pitṛ-tarpaṇa because water offerings are central to ancestral rites. The verse presents an orthodox sequence: snāna (purification) followed by arcana to both divine and ancestral recipients, integrating deva- and pitṛ-dharma.

What is the significance of the place-name ‘Kiraṇā’ and the phrase ‘dineśa-kiraṇa-cyutā’?

It marks a solar-associated sacred site—either mythically ‘born from’ the Sun’s rays or ritually empowered by solar presence. Such phrasing is typical of Purāṇic sacral etymologies that explain why a location is puṇya and how its sanctity is anchored in a deity’s emanation.