Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Counsel to Andhaka, Shloka 24

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Prahlada’s Counsel to Andhaka on Dharma

Devanagari script

नान्धको बिभियादिन्द्रान्नामरेभ्यः कथञ्चन स कथं वृषपत्राक्षाद् बिभेति स्त्रीमुखेक्षकात्

Transliteration

nāndhako bibhiyādindrānnāmarebhyaḥ kathañcana sa kathaṃ vṛṣapatrākṣād bibheti strīmukhekṣakāt

Translation

“Andhaka does not fear Indra, nor the gods, in any way. How then could he fear Vṛṣapatrākṣa—one who merely looks upon women’s faces?”

Speakers

• Nārada (reporting/voicing a harsh characterization) in the Prahlāda–Nārada exchange

Primary Deities

• Indra
• Śiva (implied via epithet vṛṣapatrākṣa)

Key Themes

• Andhaka’s hubris
• Critique through insult/taunt
• Moral inversion (fearlessness used as proof of adharma)
• Śaiva myth-cycle framing