Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Pilgrimage, Shloka 16

Prahlada’s Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Sudarshana–Trishula Exchange (Jalodbhava Episode)

Devanagari script

पार्श्वे भाद्रपदायुग्मे पूजयित्वा विधानतः गुडं सलेहकं दद्याद् दोहदे देवकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

pārśve bhādrapadāyugme pūjayitvā vidhānataḥ guḍaṃ salehakaṃ dadyād dohade devakīrtitam

Translation

dve: two; kukṣī: the two sides of the belly/flanks (aṅga designation); Revatī-yoga: the occurrence/prevailing of the Revatī nakṣatra; dohada: prescribed offering; mudga: green gram (mung bean); modaka: sweet dumpling/confection; Anurādhāsu: when Anurādhā nakṣatra prevails; jaṭharam: the belly/abdomen (region for worship); ṣaṣṭhikā-anna: food/rice made from ṣaṣṭhikā (a fast-growing rice variety; also connotes a specific rice preparation used in rites).

Speakers

• Not specified in the excerpt (instructional voice within Saro-mahātmya).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Nakṣatra-based vrata prescriptions
• Aṅga-pūjā (pārśva worship)
• Dana/offerings of sweets
• Scriptural authorization (vidhi)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is meant by ‘Bhādrapadā-yugma’ (the Bhādrapadā pair)?

It refers to the two consecutive lunar mansions Pūrvabhādrapadā and Uttarabhādrapadā. The verse treats them as a combined ritual window (yugma) for a single prescription.

Why offer guḍa and a ‘leha’ (lickable sweet)?

Sweet offerings are common in vrata contexts as symbols of auspiciousness, nourishment, and devotional ‘pleasing’ (prīṇana). Here they function as the dohada—an offering specifically matched to the Bhādrapadā period.

Does ‘devakīrtitam’ imply a direct divine command?

In Purāṇic idiom, ‘devakīrtita’ signals that the prescription is not merely customary but is presented as divinely sanctioned—either spoken by a deity in the narrative frame or validated as authoritative tradition.