Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 21

Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata

Devanagari script

ऋमं देवर्षिभूतानां मनुष्याणां विशेषतः पितृणां च द्विजश्रेष्ठ सर्वर्वणेषु चैकता

Transliteration

ṛmaṃ devarṣibhūtānāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ pitṛṇāṃ ca dvijaśreṣṭha sarvarvaṇeṣu caikatā

Translation

Đây là món ‘nợ’/bổn phận (ṛṇa) đối với chư thiên, các bậc thánh hiền (ṛṣi) và muôn loài—đặc biệt là đối với con người—và cũng đối với tổ tiên, hỡi bậc tối thắng trong hàng lưỡng sinh. Trong mọi varṇa đều có một nguyên tắc chung duy nhất về bổn phận này.

Speakers

• Not specified in input (likely a sage addressing a dvija interlocutor within a dharma discourse).

Key Themes

• Ṛṇa (three/fivefold debts)
• Dharma as universal obligation across varṇas
• Pitṛ-yajña / ancestor duty
• Social ethics

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What “debts” (ṛṇa) are being referenced here?

The verse gestures to the classical doctrine of obligations: duties owed to devas (through yajña/offerings), to ṛṣis (through study and preservation of sacred knowledge), to pitṛs (through śrāddha and lineage duties), and broadly to living beings and humans (through non-harm, charity, and social responsibility).

Why does the verse stress “especially to human beings”?

It highlights interpersonal dharma—truthfulness, non-injury, generosity, and social reciprocity—as a particularly immediate and ethically weighty sphere of obligation, even while ritual debts to devas/ṛṣis/pitṛs remain important.

What does “oneness in all varṇas” imply?

It indicates that the core principle of moral obligation is not exclusive to one class: while specific rites may vary by varṇa, the foundational duty to repay obligations (through right conduct and prescribed acts) is shared.