Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 39

Rudra’s Wrath at Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Iconography of Kālarūpa through the Zodiac

Devanagari script

मूलं पूर्वोत्तरांशश्च देवाचजार्यगृहं धनुः ऊरुयुगलमीशस्य अमरर्षे प्रगीयते

Transliteration

mūlaṃ pūrvottarāṃśaśca devācajāryagṛhaṃ dhanuḥ ūruyugalamīśasya amararṣe pragīyate

Translation

噢，神圣的仙人：牟罗（Mūla）、其前后诸分、提婆阿阇阿阇梨（Devācajārya）之居处，以及弓宿/射手座（Dhanuḥ），皆被宣说为主宰之双大腿。

Word by Word

• mūlam: the root/base
• mūlam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; here as nominative/accusative neuter used as item-name

• pūrva-uttara-aṃśaḥ: the fore-and-northern portion
• pūrva-uttara-aṃśaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: ‘पूर्वोत्तरः’ इति विशेषणं ‘अंशः’

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

• deva-ācārya-gṛham: the house of the divine teacher
• deva-ācārya-gṛham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + ācārya (प्रातिपदिक) + gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘देवस्य आचार्यस्य गृहम्’

• dhanuḥ: the bow
• dhanuḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन

• ūru-yugalam: the pair of thighs
• ūru-yugalam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ūru (प्रातिपदिक) + yugala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘ऊर्वोः युगलम्’

• īśasya: of the Lord
• īśasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), एकवचन

• amara-ṛṣe: in/for the divine sage
• amara-ṛṣe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: ‘अमरः ऋषिः’ (divine sage)

• pragīyate: is sung/recited
• pragīyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √gai (गै/गाय् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speakers

• Not explicit in the provided excerpt; likely within the Purāṇic dialogue frame (commonly Pulastya ↔ Nārada) but cannot be asserted from these verses alone

Primary Deities

• Īśa (the Lord in a cosmic-body sense)

Key Themes

• Jyotiṣa
• Cosmic anatomy (Puruṣa/Virāṭ)
• Mythic-astral correspondences

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse frames the cosmos as a sacralized body: astronomical divisions are not merely physical markers but limbs of the Lord, encouraging reverence toward cosmic order (ṛta) and contemplation of unity behind multiplicity.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classified as ancillary cosmological/astral description aligned with Sarga (ordered manifestation/structure of the cosmos), rather than dynastic narration (vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita).

What is the symbolic significance?

Locating nakṣatras and a rāśi (Dhanuṣ) in the Lord’s thighs suggests ‘support’ and ‘movement’—the thighs as bearers of posture—symbolizing that time and fate (as read through the sky) rest upon the divine totality.