Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 77
Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology
पुन्नाम्नो नरकात् त्राति पुत्रस्तेनेह गीयते सेषपापहरः शिष्य इतीयं वैदिकी श्रुतिः
punnāmno narakāt trāti putrasteneha gīyate seṣapāpaharaḥ śiṣya itīyaṃ vaidikī śrutiḥ
“Người ấy cứu (tổ tiên) khỏi địa ngục mang tên Punnāma; vì thế ở đây người ấy được ca tụng là ‘putra’ (con trai). Còn đệ tử thì trừ diệt những tội lỗi còn sót lại—đó là lời tuyên của Veda-śruti.”
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FAQs
Purāṇic and Dharmaśāstra traditions often give a folk-etymology: ‘put’ (a hell) + ‘tra’ (to save) → putra, ‘one who saves from Put/Punnāma.’ The verse uses this exegetical device to emphasize the son’s role in ancestral rites (śrāddha, piṇḍa, lineage continuity) believed to aid forefathers in adverse post-mortem states.
The statement reflects the idea that spiritual succession can substitute for biological succession in certain dharmic outcomes. A properly trained disciple continues Vedic rites, preserves the teacher’s dharma, and performs obligations (including funerary/commemorative acts in some traditions), thereby ‘clearing what remains’—i.e., completing what was left undone or purifying residual demerit through continued dharmic practice.
The verse attributes the idea to ‘vaidikī śrutiḥ,’ a common Purāṇic way of asserting high authority. In practice, it reflects a broader Brahmanical interpretive tradition (śruti-smṛti-purāṇa synthesis) where Vedic authority is invoked to validate dharma teachings, including the elevated status of the guru-disciple relationship.