Vamana Purana — Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata, Shloka 43

The Nakshatra-Purusha Vrata: Worship of Vishnu’s Body as the Constellations

Devanagari script

अहमासं पुरा विप्रः शाकले नगरोत्तमे सोमशर्मेति विख्यातो बहुलागर्भसंभवः

Transliteration

ahamāsaṃ purā vipraḥ śākale nagarottame somaśarmeti vikhyāto bahulāgarbhasaṃbhavaḥ

Translation

dānava: a Daitya/Dānava (demon of the Danu lineage); Viṣṇu-Śarvau: Viṣṇu and Śarva (Śiva); samāyātau: having come/arrived; taj-jighāṃsu: desiring to kill him; sureśa: lord of the gods; ajeya: unconquerable; ghora-rūpa: terrifying form; bhayāt: from fear; toya: water; nimnagā: river (lit. ‘that which flows downward’); viveśa: entered.

Speakers

• Preta-nāyaka speaking (self-identification) to the merchant’s son

Key Themes

• Past-life identity and social status (vipra)
• Karma-phala groundwork (who the speaker was)
• Purāṇic use of place-name anchoring (Śākala)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the narrative specify the city Śākala and the mother’s name Bahulā?

Purāṇic karma narratives often authenticate the backstory through concrete identifiers—place, personal name, and lineage. Naming Śākala anchors the episode geographically, while naming Bahulā provides genealogical specificity, strengthening the causal link between past identity and present condition.

What does ‘vipra’ imply here beyond ‘brāhmaṇa’?

Vipra connotes learnedness and Vedic competence, not merely birth. In karma-phala stories, this heightens the ethical stakes: a person with knowledge and ritual standing is expected to uphold dharma, so deviation (if later described) becomes more consequential.

Is Śākala identifiable in broader Indic geography?

Śākala is a well-known toponym in classical sources, often associated with the northwestern cultural sphere (frequently linked with the Śākala/Sialkot region in later identifications). In this verse, its primary function is narrative-geographic anchoring rather than a tīrtha description.