Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 48

Portents at Bali’s Sacrifice and the Kośakāra’s Son: The Power of Past Karma

Devanagari script

ततः स पित्रा क्रुद्धेन क्षिप्तः कूपे निरूदके महाशिलां चोपरि वै पिधानमवरोपयत्

Transliteration

tataḥ sa pitrā kruddhena kṣiptaḥ kūpe nirūdake mahāśilāṃ copari vai pidhānamavaropayat

Translation

Then, his father—angered—threw him into a waterless well, and placed a great stone above it as a covering.

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the chapter (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt)

Key Themes

• Escalation from censure to coercion
• Parental authority and discipline
• Consequences of adharma/neglect
• Motif of confinement in a pit (kūpa) as narrative turning point

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Is the father’s act presented as dharmic discipline or adharma?

Purāṇic exempla often depict extreme acts to dramatize consequences and catalyze later redemption. The text here reports the act without explicit approval; interpretation depends on the subsequent narrative resolution (not included in the excerpt).

Why specify ‘nirūdake kūpe’ (a waterless well)?

A dry well intensifies the sense of isolation and peril while avoiding immediate drowning; it functions as a narrative device for confinement and later rescue/realization.

Does the ‘stone covering’ have symbolic meaning?

Yes: sealing with a mahāśilā suggests social and familial exclusion—an attempt to ‘close off’ the offender—often used in Purāṇic storytelling to mark a low point before reversal or divine intervention.