Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 21

Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मचर्यममानित्वं योगाभ्यासरतिर्दृढा सर्वत्र कामचारितवं धर्मो ऽयं पैतृकः स्मृतः

Transliteration

brahmacaryamamānitvaṃ yogābhyāsaratirdṛḍhā sarvatra kāmacāritavaṃ dharmo 'yaṃ paitṛkaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

梵行（brahmacarya）、无我慢之谦卑（amānitva）、对瑜伽修习之坚固乐行，以及遍处随意往来之能力——此被忆念为派特利迦（Paitṛka，祖灵之类）之法。

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: celibacy, brahmacarya
• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अमानित्वम्: humility (non-pride)
• अमानित्वम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमानित्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भाववाचक — ‘absence of pride’

• योगाभ्यासरतिः: delight in yoga-practice
• योगाभ्यासरतिः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग + अभ्यास + रति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (योगाभ्यासे रतिः) — ‘delight in practice of yoga’

• दृढा: firm
• दृढा: विशेषण (to रतिः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृढ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण — ‘firm’

• सर्वत्र: everywhere
• सर्वत्र: अधिकरण (Adverbial location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय — ‘everywhere’

• कामचारितवम्: freedom to act at will
• कामचारितवम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject; in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामचारित्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भाववाचक — ‘acting as one wishes/freedom of movement’

• धर्मः: dharma
• धर्मः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: विशेषण (Demonstrative to धर्मः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम — ‘this’

• पैतृकः: paternal / of the Pitṛs
• पैतृकः: विशेषण (to धर्मः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पैतृक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण — ‘paternal/pertaining to Pitṛs’

• स्मृतः: is remembered/considered
• स्मृतः: क्रिया (Predicate; ‘is regarded’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — ‘is remembered/considered’

Speakers

• Not specified in the prompt (commonly Pulastya → Nārada framework; verify with full chapter context)

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs (ancestral divinities/manes)

Key Themes

• Yoga
• Ethics (humility)
• Brahmacarya
• Pitṛ devotion/ancestral order
• Dharma/guṇa taxonomy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Spiritual authority is grounded in restraint (brahmacarya) and humility (amānitva), not status. Yogic perseverance is presented as the inner engine that yields extraordinary capacities (kāmacāritva), implying that siddhis are secondary fruits of disciplined character.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is not a primary pancalakṣaṇa element like sarga/pratisarga; it is dharma-varṇana of a class (Pitṛ-related beings), fitting the purāṇic encyclopedic layer that often accompanies genealogical and manvantara materials.

What is the symbolic significance?

The Pitṛ-associated dharma combines ascetic virtues with 'free movement,' symbolizing that true freedom arises from self-mastery. The ancestors are idealized as perfected through tapas-like discipline, legitimizing ritual respect for Pitṛs as reverence toward realized restraint.