Vamana Purana — Portents at Bali's Sacrifice, Shloka 88

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

Devanagari script

बन्धनादवमुच्याथ जगाम त्वरिता मुने ततोर्ऽधपथि सा तन्वी मत्पृष्ठादवरुह्य वै

Transliteration

bandhanādavamucyātha jagāma tvaritā mune tator'dhapathi sā tanvī matpṛṣṭhādavaruhya vai

Translation

بندھن سے چھوٹ کر وہ تیزی سے روانہ ہوئی، اے مُنی۔ پھر آدھے راستے میں وہ نازک اندام میرے پشت سے اتر گئی۔

Speakers

• Narrator (a first-person witness) addressing a sage (mune)

Key Themes

• Release from bondage
• Transition toward ritual bathing
• Pilgrimage/riverine setting (implied)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the narrative function of ‘release from bondage’ here?

It marks a turning point from constraint to ritual agency: once freed, the maiden can proceed toward a purificatory act (snāna), a common Purāṇic motif linking liberation from danger with entry into tīrtha-space.

Who is the ‘I’ (matpṛṣṭhāt) in this passage?

The verse is framed in first-person narration: the speaker served as a conveyance (mount/vehicle/support) for the maiden. The specific identity is not stated in the provided excerpt and must be confirmed from surrounding verses.

Why emphasize ‘halfway’ (ardha-pathi)?

Midway markers often signal liminal space—between danger and safety, wilderness and tīrtha, or impurity and purification—preparing the reader for the river-bathing scene that follows.