Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Victory through Bhakti, Shloka 42
Prahlada’s Defeat in Battle and Victory through Bhakti (Nara-Narayana Episode)
तस्माद्यदिच्छसि जयं तमाराधय दानव तं पराजेष्यसे भक्त्या तस्माच्छुश्रूष धर्मजम्
tasmādyadicchasi jayaṃ tamārādhaya dānava taṃ parājeṣyase bhaktyā tasmācchuśrūṣa dharmajam
“Kaya kung nais mo ang tagumpay, O Dānava, sambahin mo Siya. Sa pamamagitan ng bhakti (taos na debosyon) ay madadaig mo siya; kaya makinig at sumunod nang may paggalang sa aral na isinilang mula sa dharma.”
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FAQs
Victory is subordinated to devotion and alignment with dharma: power is not merely strategic but moral-spiritual. The verse also implies that even adversarial figures (Dānavas) are counselled toward bhakti and righteous obedience rather than sheer force.
Didactic material embedded in narrative (carita). It supports purāṇic dharma-teaching rather than cosmogenesis or genealogical cataloguing; thus it aligns with the instructional function commonly interwoven with Vamśānucarita-style episodes.
‘Defeat by bhakti’ reverses the usual daitya logic of conquest by might, symbolizing the purāṇic claim that devotion is a higher causal force than brute strength—reorienting ambition toward sacral legitimacy (dharmaja).