Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 16

Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

आदित्याद्यास्त्रिलोकेश समं शक्रादिभिः सुरैः मातृष्वसा विपन्नेयमन्तर्दुःखेन दह्यती

Transliteration

ādityādyāstrilokeśa samaṃ śakrādibhiḥ suraiḥ mātṛṣvasā vipanneyamantarduḥkhena dahyatī

Translation

اے تینوں لوکوں کے مالک! آدتیہ وغیرہ دیوتا، اندر وغیرہ سُروں کے ساتھ یہاں موجود ہیں؛ پھر بھی یہ ماتೃسْوَسا (ماں کی بہن) مصیبت زدہ ہے اور باطنی غم سے جل رہی ہے۔

Word by Word

• āditya-ādyāḥ: the Ādityas and others
• āditya-ādyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (āditya as first member; 'beginning with the Ādityas'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• triloka-īśa: O lord of the three worlds
• triloka-īśa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'lord of the three worlds'; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• samam: together/equally
• samam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'equally/together'

• śakra-ādibhiḥ: with Śakra (Indra) and others
• śakra-ādibhiḥ: Sahakāraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'with Indra and others'; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• suraiḥ: with the gods
• suraiḥ: Sahakāraka (सह/साकं)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• mātṛ-ṣvasā: the maternal aunt
• mātṛ-ṣvasā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ṣvasṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'mother's sister' (maternal aunt); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vipannā: distressed/ruined
• vipannā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√pad (धातु) + vipanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with iyam

• iyam: this (she)
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• antar-duḥkhena: by inner grief
• antar-duḥkhena: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antar (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'inner sorrow'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (duḥkha), तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• dahyatī: is burning/is being consumed
• dahyatī: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; passive/ātmanepada usage: 'is being burned'

Speakers

• Jayā (implied continuing speech) addressing ‘trilokeśa’ (likely Śiva in context) or a high divine addressee; narrated by Pulastya

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Indra

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Deva assembly
• Inner grief vs outer ceremony
• Daksha-Yajna

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

External grandeur—assemblies of devas and ritual pomp—cannot resolve inner adharma or emotional injury; Purāṇic ethics repeatedly privilege inner truth (antar-bhāva) over mere public validation.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Again, episodic sacred history (carita) rather than sarga/pratisarga; it supports dharma-teaching through exemplary narrative about the consequences of ritual pride and relational harm.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Burning with inner sorrow’ prefigures Rudra’s outward fire-like rage: the feminine interior pain becomes the narrative seed for cosmic-ritual disruption, showing psyche and cosmos mirrored in Purāṇic storytelling.