Shloka 20

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

विश्वेदेवा कटीभागे मरुतो वस्तिशीर्षगाः लिङ्गे स्थितो मन्मथश्च वृषणाभ्यां प्रजापतिः

Transliteration

viśvedevā kaṭībhāge maruto vastiśīrṣagāḥ liṅge sthito manmathaśca vṛṣaṇābhyāṃ prajāpatiḥ

Translation

ณ บริเวณสะโพกสถิตเหล่าวิศเวเทวะ ณ ส่วนศีรษะแห่งกระเพาะปัสสาวะสถิตเหล่ามรุต ที่อวัยวะกำเนิดมีมันมถะ (กามเทพ) ประทับอยู่ และที่อัณฑะทั้งสองมีปรชาปติสถิต/ปรากฏ

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (likely a narrator/ṛṣi continuing the mapping).

Primary Deities

• Viśvedevas
• Maruts
• Manmatha (Kāma)
• Prajāpati

Key Themes

• Cosmic physiology as theological map
• Procreation and cosmic creation
• Deva-classes and their functional symbolism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Manmatha and Prajāpati associated with the generative organs?

The mapping is functional-symbolic: Manmatha embodies desire that initiates procreation, while Prajāpati represents generative lordship/creation. Placing them in the reproductive anatomy encodes a cosmological claim that creation proceeds through desire and generative power.

Who are the Viśvedevas, and why are they placed at the hips?

The Viśvedevas are a collective group of deities invoked in Vedic ritual. The hip/waist region is a locus of bodily balance and support; symbolically, the ‘All-Gods’ stabilize and uphold the cosmic person, paralleling their role as comprehensive divine witnesses in ritual.

What does ‘Maruts at the head of the bladder’ signify?

Maruts are wind/storm deities; their placement near an organ associated with internal ‘flows’ can be read as a physiological metaphor for vital airs (vāyus) governing bodily functions. It also continues the Purāṇic habit of distributing deities according to perceived functional correspondences.