Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Defeat & Redemption, Shloka 63

Andhaka’s Defeat, the Bhairava Manifestation, and His Redemption as Bhṛṅgī Gaṇapati

Devanagari script

सूक्ष्मस्त्वं व्यक्तरूपस्त्वं त्वमव्यक्तस्त्वमीश्वरः त्वया सर्वमिदं व्याप्तं जगत् स्थावरजङ्गमम्

Transliteration

sūkṣmastvaṃ vyaktarūpastvaṃ tvamavyaktastvamīśvaraḥ tvayā sarvamidaṃ vyāptaṃ jagat sthāvarajaṅgamam

Translation

You are subtle; you are manifest in form; you are also unmanifest—O Lord. By you all this universe is pervaded, the world of the immobile and the mobile.

Speakers

• Unnamed devotee/praiser addressing the Supreme Lord (Īśvara) in a hymn; interlocutors not specified in the given excerpt.

Primary Deities

• Īśvara (Supreme Lord)

Key Themes

• All-pervasion (vyāpti)
• Manifest–unmanifest theology
• Immanence and transcendence
• Cosmic totality (sthāvara–jaṅgama)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How can the deity be both ‘manifest’ (vyakta) and ‘unmanifest’ (avyakta)?

Purāṇic theology often holds that the Supreme is transcendent (unmanifest to ordinary perception) yet can assume manifest forms for grace, protection, and revelation. The verse compresses this into a single doctrinal statement of simultaneous immanence and transcendence.

What does ‘sthāvara-jaṅgama’ add to the meaning?

It is a comprehensive merism: ‘immobile and mobile’ together denotes all categories of existence. The hymn thus asserts that nothing—living or non-living—lies outside the Lord’s pervasion.

Is this language closer to Sāṅkhya/Vedānta or to devotional Purāṇic bhakti?

It borrows philosophical vocabulary (vyakta/avyakta, sūkṣma) familiar from Sāṅkhya and Vedānta, but deploys it devotionally: the categories become attributes of the praised Lord rather than abstract metaphysical principles alone.