Vamana Purana — Saptasarasvata Tirtha, Shloka 4

Harihara Revelation and the Tirtha-Glorification of Saptasarasvata in Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

शून्यं गिरिमपश्यन्त अज्ञानतिमिरावृताः तान् मूढदृष्टीन् संप्रोक्ष्य देवान् विष्णुर्महाद्युतिः

Transliteration

śūnyaṃ girimapaśyanta ajñānatimirāvṛtāḥ tān mūḍhadṛṣṭīn saṃprokṣya devān viṣṇurmahādyutiḥ

Translation

他们为无明之暗所覆，遂见此山如同空寂。于是光辉炽盛的毗湿奴以净水洒灌那些目见迷妄的诸天，使其复得明了。

Word by Word

• śūnyam: empty
• śūnyam: Karma (कर्म/predicate to object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śūnya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with girim (as predicate adjective)

• girim: the mountain
• girim: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• apaśyan: they saw
• apaśyan: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; parasmaipada; form in text as apaśyanta (Vedic/epic plural)

• ajñāna-timira-āvṛtāḥ: covered by the darkness of ignorance
• ajñāna-timira-āvṛtāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ajñāna + timira + āvṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; PPP āvṛta (√vṛ “cover”) with तत्पुरुष: अज्ञान-तिमिरेण आवृताः

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (कर्म/object of saṃprokṣya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; pronoun

• mūḍha-dṛṣṭīn: whose vision was deluded
• mūḍha-dṛṣṭīn: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūḍha + dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural; बहुव्रीहि “येषां दृष्टिः मूढा”

• saṃprokṣya: having sprinkled
• saṃprokṣya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/gerund)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-√pruc/√prokṣ (प्रोक्ष् धातु) (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा), indeclinable; “having sprinkled (with water)”

• devān: the gods
• devān: Karma (कर्म/object; apposition to tān)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• mahā-dyutiḥ: of great splendor
• mahā-dyutiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/apposition to viṣṇuḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + dyuti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; कर्मधारय “महती द्युतिः यस्य” (also interpretable as bahuvrīhi; taken here as epithet in apposition)

Speakers

• Narratorial voice; action centered on Viṣṇu affecting the devas

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Avidyā (ignorance) as perceptual veil
• Ritual purification (prokṣaṇa)
• Divine revelation/epiphany mechanics
• Restoration of right vision

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does ‘ajñāna-timira’ imply about the devas—how can gods be ignorant?

Purāṇic narrative often treats ‘devas’ as powerful yet not omniscient; they can be veiled by māyā or situational avidyā. ‘Ajñāna-timira’ here is a literary-theological device explaining why a sacred place appears ‘empty’ despite an underlying divine reality.

What is the significance of Viṣṇu ‘sprinkling’ (saṃprokṣya) the devas?

Saṃprokṣaṇa is a ritual act associated with purification and consecration (often with sanctified water/mantra). In narrative terms it functions as a ‘reset’ of perception—removing impurity/veil so the devas can apprehend what is truly present or what is about to be revealed.

Does ‘śūnyaṃ girim’ mean the mountain is literally deserted?

Not necessarily. It reports the devas’ perception under delusion. The verse immediately explains that their seeing ‘emptiness’ is caused by ignorance-darkness, implying that the locus retains sacred potency and that the ‘absence’ is a matter of concealed presence or altered visibility.