Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 40

Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas

Devanagari script

ततो महर्षयो दृष्ट्वा मृगेन्द्रवदनं गणम् भीता होत्रं परित्यज्य जग्मुः शरणमच्युतम्

Transliteration

tato maharṣayo dṛṣṭvā mṛgendravadanaṃ gaṇam bhītā hotraṃ parityajya jagmuḥ śaraṇamacyutam

Translation

于是诸大圣仙见一伽那具狮面，心生恐惧；遂舍离祭司之职与祭仪，前往归依不堕者阿周陀（毗湿奴）。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• maharṣayaḥ: great sages
• maharṣayaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nominative), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः: ‘महान् ऋषिः’

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having seen’

• mṛga-indra-vadanam: lion-faced
• mṛga-indra-vadanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक) + vadana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी/उपमान-भाव): ‘मृगेन्द्रस्य वदनम् इव वदनं यस्य’ (lion-faced)

• gaṇam: the gaṇa (attendant troop)
• gaṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्

• bhītāḥ: frightened
• bhītāḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्ता-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīta (कृदन्त; √bhī)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (nominative), बहुवचनम्; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• hotram: the priestly office/ritual duty (hotṛ-function)
• hotram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचनम्

• parityajya: having abandoned
• parityajya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having abandoned’

• jagmuḥ: they went
• jagmuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचनम्

• acyutam: Acyuta (Viṣṇu)
• acyutam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: acyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचनम्; विष्णोर्नाम (proper epithet)

Speakers

• Not specified in input (likely within the Purāṇic frame dialogue
• commonly Pulastya ↔ Nārada
• but not asserted here)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Acyuta)
• Shiva-associated gaṇa (implied)

Key Themes

• Bhakti
• Refuge in God (śaraṇāgati)
• Ṛṣi–Daitya/gaṇa conflict motif
• Sectarian Harmony (implicit)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

When fear or disruption arises—even to the point of interrupting ritual—seeking refuge in the supreme protector (Acyuta) is portrayed as the higher recourse. The verse prioritizes living reliance on the divine over mere continuation of formal acts.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is best classed under Vamśānucarita/Carita-style narrative (accounts of events and divine interventions) rather than cosmogenesis. It is episodic storytelling illustrating dharmic response and divine protection.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘lion-faced gaṇa’ symbolizes overwhelming, untamed force that can shake even ascetics; the sages’ movement from ritual-performance to śaraṇāgati encodes the Purāṇic teaching that devotion and surrender are themselves a potent spiritual act.