Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 73

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

ततः पितामहो देवः केशवश्च जगत्पतिः आजग्मतुस्तमुद्देशं यत्र लिङ्गं भवस्य तत्

Transliteration

tataḥ pitāmaho devaḥ keśavaśca jagatpatiḥ ājagmatustamuddeśaṃ yatra liṅgaṃ bhavasya tat

Translation

پھر پِتامہ دیو (برہما) اور جگت پتی کیشو اُس مقام پر گئے جہاں بھَو (شیو) کا وہ لِنگ تھا۔

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरबोधक-अव्यय (then)

• पितामहः: Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पितामहस्य विशेषणम्

• केशवः: Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• केशवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• जगत्पतिः: lord of the world
• जगत्पतिः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagatpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (जगतः पतिः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; केशवस्य विशेषणम्

• आजग्मतुः: the two came
• आजग्मतुः: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन, परस्मैपद

• तम्: that
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उद्देशम्: place/region
• उद्देशम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uddeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-स्थानवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• लिङ्गम्: the liṅga
• लिङ्गम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (यत्र ... लिङ्गम्)

• भवस्य: of Bhava (Śiva)
• भवस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘that (indeed)’

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Purāṇic frame (commonly Pulastya → Nārada
• though not explicit in the given verses)

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu (Keśava/Hari)
• Śiva (Bhava, via liṅga)

Key Themes

• Shaiva-Vaishnava harmony
• Linga theology
• Cosmic hierarchy and cooperation among deities
• Pilgrimage-to-presence (approach to the sacred locus)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse models concord rather than rivalry: Brahmā and Viṣṇu together approach Śiva’s liṅga, implying that ultimate sacred reality is approached through humility and cooperative seeking, not sectarian contest.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily within Vamśānucarita/Carita (narrative of divine figures) rather than cosmogenesis: it is an episode describing interactions among deities and the recognition of Śiva’s manifest sign (liṅga).

What is the symbolic significance?

The liṅga functions as an axis of the sacred—an emblem of the ungraspable Absolute. The joint movement of Brahmā and Viṣṇu toward it foreshadows the later motif that neither can fully measure or exhaust the reality symbolized by Śiva’s liṅga.