Vamana Purana — Vishnu's Sleep (Ashunya-Shayana), Shloka 5

The Caturmasya Observances and the Rite of Vishnu’s Sleep (Aśūnya-Śayana) and Shiva’s Monthly Vows

Devanagari script

नारद उवाच/ कथयस्व कुरादीनां शयने विधिमुत्तमम् सर्वमनुक्रमेणैव पुरस्कृत्य जनार्दनम्

Transliteration

nārada uvāca/ kathayasva kurādīnāṃ śayane vidhimuttamam sarvamanukrameṇaiva puraskṛtya janārdanam

Translation

那罗陀说道：“请为我宣说‘睡眠仪’（śayana）的殊胜法则，从库罗等处开始，依次详述一切，并先行奉请（尊置）阇那尔达那为首。”

Word by Word

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: क्रिया (Verb/आख्यात)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• कथयस्व: tell (me)
• कथयस्व: क्रिया (Verb/आख्यात)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद; आत्मनेपद-रूप ‘कथयस्व’ (imperative middle usage)

• कुरादीनाम्: of the Kurus and others
• कुरादीनाम्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुर + आदि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (plural); ‘कुर-आदि’ = ‘Kuru and others’ (ādi-tatpuruṣa)

• शयने: in/for the rite of lying down (sleep)
• शयने: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• विधिम्: the procedure
• विधिम्: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular)

• उत्तमम्: excellent
• उत्तमम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘विधिम्’

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘everything’ as object of ‘कथयस्व’

• अनुक्रमेण: in sequence / in order
• अनुक्रमेण: करण/रीति (Karaṇa/Manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/रीति (instrumental of manner)

• एव: indeed / just
• एव: निपात (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed foremost / having honored
• पुरस्कृत्य: पूर्वक्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस् + √कृ (धातु; कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘having placed in front / having honored’

• जनार्दनम्: Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• जनार्दनम्: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular)

Speakers

• Nārada to Pulastya (query initiating the instruction)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Janārdana)

Key Themes

• Vrata/Rituals
• Vaishnavism
• Dialogic transmission (guru–śiṣya frame)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual discipline is framed as ordered knowledge (anukrama) anchored in devotion: one begins by placing the deity (Janārdana) foremost, implying that correct intention and divine orientation govern practice.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This passage aligns best with ācāra/dharma material (ritual observance) rather than the five classic lakṣaṇas; within Purāṇic organization it functions as vrata-vidhi instruction, adjacent to dharma/vaṃśānucarita layers but not itself genealogical or cosmogonic.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Puraskṛtya Janārdanam’ symbolizes the primacy of the divine in all undertakings: the ‘sleep’ of Hari is not absence but a sacred calendrical mode (Caturmāsya) in which devotees align time, body, and worship.