Vamana Purana — Rudra's Wrath & Kalarupa, Shloka 58

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

Devanagari script

रिक्तमुम्भश्च पुरुषः स्कन्धधारी जलाप्लुतः द्यूतशालाचरः कुम्भः स्थायी शौण्डिकसद्मसु

Transliteration

riktamumbhaśca puruṣaḥ skandhadhārī jalāplutaḥ dyūtaśālācaraḥ kumbhaḥ sthāyī śauṇḍikasadmasu

Translation

一人持空水罐（kumbha）负于肩上，浑身为水所湿；此“罐者”常出入赌馆，并居于酒肆贩者或嗜酒之人的家中。

Word by Word

• रिक्त-उम्भः: an empty water-pot
• रिक्त-उम्भः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रिक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + उम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (रिक्तः उम्भः)

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

• पुरुषः: a man/person
• पुरुषः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• स्कन्ध-धारी: carrying on the shoulder
• स्कन्ध-धारी: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्कन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + धारी (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; धारी = धृ (धातु) + णिनि/इन्; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (स्कन्धे धरति)

• जल-आप्लुतः: soaked/immersed in water
• जल-आप्लुतः: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + आप्लुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (सम्/आ+प्लु धातु ‘to immerse’); तत्पुरुषः (जलेन आप्लुतः/जले आप्लुतः)

• द्यूत-शाला-चरः: one who frequents the gambling-house
• द्यूत-शाला-चरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यूत (प्रातिपदिक) + शाला (प्रातिपदिक) + चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (द्यूतशालायां चरति)

• कुम्भः: a pot/jar
• कुम्भः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• स्थायी: staying/abiding
• स्थायी: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: णिनि/इन्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• शौण्डिक-सद्मसु: in the houses of liquor-sellers/tavern-keepers
• शौण्डिक-सद्मसु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौण्डिक (प्रातिपदिक) + सद्मन्/सद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सद्मन्), सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शौण्डिकानां सद्मसु)

Speakers

• Narrative frame not explicit in the given verses; descriptive voice addressing 'brahman' continues from surrounding context

Key Themes

• Ethical Typology (places of vice)
• Social Landscape (gambling, alcohol)
• Symbolic Anthropology

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse maps certain dispositions to certain haunts—gambling halls and liquor-houses—implicitly warning that emptiness (riktatā) and lack of steadiness lead one toward degrading environments.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Not genealogical (vaṃśa) or dynastic (vaṃśānucarita); it functions as ancillary dharma/ācāra material embedded in a descriptive section—closest to sarga-style cataloging of types and conditions.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘empty pot’ (riktakumbha) is a common Indian symbol for hollowness/vanity; paired with gambling and alcohol, it becomes an emblem of wasted life-energy and unstable conduct.