Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 30

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

ततो ऽभ्यागाद् वेदवती नाम्ना गन्धर्वकन्यका पर्जन्यतनया साध्वी घृताचीर्गर्भसंभवा

Transliteration

tato 'bhyāgād vedavatī nāmnā gandharvakanyakā parjanyatanayā sādhvī ghṛtācīrgarbhasaṃbhavā

Translation

随后，一位名为“吠陀伐蒂”(Vedavatī)的乾闼婆少女到来——品行端正——她是帕尔贾尼亚（Parjanya）之女，由吉利塔琪（Ghṛtācī）之胎而生。

Speakers

• Narrator to the listening audience (frame not explicit in excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Parjanya
• Ghṛtācī

Key Themes

• Mythic lineage and identity markers
• Celestial beings in tīrtha narratives
• Virtue (sādhvī) as a narrative qualifier

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the text specify both Parjanya as father and Ghṛtācī as the womb-source?

Purāṇic narration often anchors a character’s authority and nature through dual lineage: a divine/elemental progenitor (Parjanya, linked with rain and fertility) and a celestial maternal figure (Ghṛtācī, an Apsaras). This frames Vedavatī as both luminous and ritually significant in a tīrtha setting.

Does ‘gandharvakanyakā’ imply she is an Apsaras?

Not exactly. ‘Gandharva-kanyakā’ identifies her with the Gandharva sphere; Ghṛtācī is explicitly an Apsaras. The verse presents a mixed celestial genealogy, common in Purāṇic myth where Gandharva/Apsaras lineages interweave.

What is the narrative function of calling her ‘sādhvī’?

‘Sādhvī’ signals moral and ritual fitness, preparing the reader for her actions at the sacred waters (snāna, encounter, or boon). In māhātmya literature, virtue often correlates with the capacity to activate or witness tīrtha power.