Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 45

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

Devanagari script

दुर्भिक्षे व्यसने चापि येनात्मा विनिवेदितः स स्वयन्दत्त इत्युस्तथान्यः कारणान्तरैः

Transliteration

durbhikṣe vyasane cāpi yenātmā viniveditaḥ sa svayandatta ityustathānyaḥ kāraṇāntaraiḥ

Translation

Ngay cả trong nạn đói hay lúc tai biến, người nào đã dâng hiến (phó thác) chính thân mình thì được gọi là svayaṃdatta, “tự hiến”. Cũng vậy, một người khác có thể được gọi như thế do những nguyên nhân khác.

Word by Word

• dur-bhikṣe: in famine
• dur-bhikṣe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + bhikṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (दुष्टं/कठिनं भिक्षम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vyasane: in calamity
• vyasane: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyasana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (also/even)

• yena: by whom
• yena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम

• ātmā: self/person
• ātmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• viniveditaḥ: surrendered/offered
• viniveditaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-vid (धातु)
• Form: वि-नि-उपसर्ग + क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; "offered/surrendered"

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• svayam-dattaḥ: self-given (one who gives himself)
• svayam-dattaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svayam (अव्यय) + datta (कृदन्त)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ("स्वयम् दत्तः"), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्यय

• uktaḥ: is called
• uktaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; "is said/called"

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

• anyaḥ: another (one)
• anyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kāraṇa-antaraiḥ: by other reasons
• kāraṇa-antaraiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास ("कारणानाम् अन्तरैः" = by other reasons), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speakers

• Not specified in input (didactic dharma passage; likely a sage/narrator instructing a listener
• as common in Purāṇic dharma sections).

Key Themes

• Dharma teaching
• Ethics of self-surrender/self-sale
• Famine ethics (durbhikṣa-dharma)
• Definitions/classifications in dharma discourse

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘svayaṃdatta’ mean in this context?

It is a dharma-technical label for a person who has ‘given himself’—i.e., surrendered his person/agency under extreme conditions (such as famine) or other specified circumstances. The verse is definitional rather than devotional.

Is the verse endorsing self-surrender as ideal dharma?

The wording functions as classification: it identifies who is called ‘self-given’ under famine/calamity and other causes. Purāṇic dharma sections often record such categories without presenting them as universally desirable.

Why mention famine (durbhikṣa) specifically?

Famine is a classic ‘exceptional circumstance’ in dharma literature where normal social-economic rules are discussed with special nuance; this verse anchors the definition of svayaṃdatta in such crisis conditions.