Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Victory through Bhakti, Shloka 38
Prahlada’s Defeat in Battle and Victory through Bhakti (Nara-Narayana Episode)
ततो दैत्यपतिं विष्णुं पीतवासाब्रवीद्वचः गच्छ जेष्यसि भक्त्या तं न युद्धेन कथञ्चन
tato daityapatiṃ viṣṇuṃ pītavāsābravīdvacaḥ gaccha jeṣyasi bhaktyā taṃ na yuddhena kathañcana
پھر زرد پوش وشنو نے دیَتیوں کے سردار سے فرمایا—جاؤ؛ تم اسے بھکتی کے ذریعے فتح کرو گے، جنگ کے ذریعے ہرگز نہیں۔
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FAQs
Victory is framed as moral and spiritual rather than merely martial: the verse elevates bhakti (devotional alignment with the divine will) above coercive power. It also implies that dharmic restraint can be superior to violence even in a conflict setting.
Primarily Vamśānucarita/Carita (narrative of divine–asura interactions and exemplary figures). It is not cosmogenesis (sarga/pratisarga) but ethical-theological instruction embedded in storyline.
The ‘yellow-robed’ Vishnu symbolizes sattvic sovereignty and guidance; the instruction ‘not by war’ recasts conquest as inner submission and rightful order. In Vamana–Bali dynamics, it anticipates Bali’s eventual exaltation through surrender rather than resistance.