Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 38

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

श्रूयसे दृश्यसे नित्यं स्पृश्यसे वन्द्यसे प्रिये आलिङ्ग्यसे च सततं किमर्थं नाभिभाषसे

Transliteration

śrūyase dṛśyase nityaṃ spṛśyase vandyase priye āliṅgyase ca satataṃ kimarthaṃ nābhibhāṣase

Translation

爱人啊，你恒常被人传闻、也被人目睹；被触及、被礼敬；又不断被拥抱——为何你却不对我开口？

Word by Word

• śrūyase: you are heard
• śrūyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive voice)

• dṛśyase: you are seen
• dṛśyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (Passive)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• spṛśyase: you are touched
• spṛśyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: spṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (Passive)

• vandyase: you are saluted / revered
• vandyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vand (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (Passive)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• āliṅgyase: you are embraced
• āliṅgyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āliṅg (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (Passive)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• satatam: continually
• satatam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• kimartham: why / for what reason
• kimartham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb); समासः—तत्पुरुष (किम् + अर्थम् → किमर्थम्)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• abhibhāṣase: you speak (to me) / address
• abhibhāṣase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदधातोः उपसर्गयुक्त-आत्मनेपदप्रयोग (abhi- + bhāṣ)

Speakers

• Unspecified male speaker addressing his beloved (dialogue context not given in input); likely within the Purana’s frame-narration (often Pulastya–Nārada)
• but speaker here cannot be confirmed from the excerpt alone.

Key Themes

• Bhakti (as affective speech-pattern, if applied devotionally)
• Viraha (separation/estrangement)
• Ethics of compassion and responsiveness in relationships
• Dialogue and reconciliation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse dramatizes the ethical demand for responsiveness: intimacy and outward acts (seeing, touching, embracing, revering) are incomplete without truthful communication. In dharma-literature, speech (satya-vāk) and mutual acknowledgement are essential for sustaining relationship and social order.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classified under Vamśānucarita / narrative episode (ākhyāna) rather than cosmological Sarga/Pratisarga. It functions as a character-centered scene within the Purāṇic storytelling stream.

What is the symbolic significance?

On a symbolic reading common in Purāṇic exegesis, the ‘beloved who is near yet silent’ can mirror the devotee’s experience of the divine—present in signs and rituals, yet seemingly unresponsive—thereby intensifying longing and prompting deeper inward inquiry.