Vamana Purana — Gift of Sudarshana, Shloka 6

The Gift of Sudarshana: Shiva’s Boon to Vishnu and the Sanctification of Virupaksha

Devanagari script

तं माता मुनिशार्दूल शालिपिष्टरसेन वै पोषयामास वदती क्षीरमेतत् सुदुर्गता

Transliteration

taṃ mātā muniśārdūla śālipiṣṭarasena vai poṣayāmāsa vadatī kṣīrametat sudurgatā

Translation

daityeśvara-sūnu: son of the Daitya-lord (i.e., Bali, son of Virocana, in the Vāmana cycle); ādarāt: with reverence, respectfully; māsatrayam: three months; mūla-phala-ambu-bhakṣī: one who subsists on roots (mūla), fruits (phala), and water (ambu); nivedya: having offered/presented; vipra-pravara: foremost among Brahmins; kāñcana: gold; ghora: dreadful, formidable; daṇḍaka-vanam: the Daṇḍaka forest (a famed wilderness/forest-region in Itihāsa-Purāṇa geography).

Speakers

• Narrator (likely Pulastya) addressing a sage-listener (honorific: muniśārdūla; commonly Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa frames)

Key Themes

• Poverty and maternal care
• Compassionate deception (protective speech)
• Food symbolism (milk vs. rice-extract)
• Human vulnerability within tirtha-narrative framing

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the mother call rice-extract ‘milk’ (kṣīra)?

The verse depicts protective speech born of poverty: she lacks actual milk yet sustains the child with śāli-piṣṭa-rasa and preserves his sense of being cared for. In Purāṇic storytelling, such moments often set up later reversal—divine or karmic providence responding to hardship.

What does ‘muniśārdūla’ indicate about the narrative frame?

It signals a formal Purāṇic dialogue: the narrator addresses an eminent sage. In the Vāmana Purāṇa this frequently corresponds to a speaker like Pulastya instructing Nārada (or another ṛṣi), especially in geography-and-tīrtha sections where moral exempla are embedded.

Is there a theological point even without a named deity here?

Yes. Purāṇas often teach dharma through ordinary life: endurance, care, and truthful intention (even if the words are not literally true) can be portrayed as meritorious, preparing the ground for later divine grace or tīrtha-phala in the surrounding chapter.