Vāmana Prayer
Vāmana Prārthanā, “the prayer to Vāmana”
The Vāmana prayer is three verses addressed to Bhagavān Vāmana, said at night in the vrata of the Vijayā tithi, the ekādaśī of Bhādrapada joined with Śravaṇa nakshatra. It salutes him as Mādhava Madhusūdana, the Vāmana form, Trivikrama, Vāsudeva and Govinda, and asks him to destroy the flood of pāpa and grant every desire. Śrī Kṛshṇa gives it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.
The account of the day
Śrī Kṛshṇa says that when the ekādaśī of Bhādrapada is joined with Śravaṇa it is called Vijayā and gives victory to bhaktas. The devas, defeated by the daitya king Bali, took refuge in Bhagavān Vishṇu. He told them that Bali was his bhakta, calm, master of his senses and true to his word, and that in time he would take an avatāra from Aditi, who also sought a son. In nine months Bhagavān Vāmana appeared from Aditi’s womb, small of body with a large head, on the ekādaśī of Bhādrapada joined with Śravaṇa; the earth trembled, the daityas feared and the devas rejoiced. Kaśyapa performed his birth rites. Bearing staff, girdle, sacred thread, water-pot and umbrella, Vāmana went to Bali’s yajña and asked for three paces of land, and Bali gave them. Then Bhagavān Vāmana grew so vast that with one pace he measured the earth and with the second Brahmaloka, and the devas, siddhas and ṛshis praised him. He sent Bali gladly to Sutala, under his protection, to be Indra after the present Indra, and withdrew. Because all this took place on that ekādaśī, it is the day of the devas’ victory.
The prayer
The devotee fasts on the ekādaśī, makes an image of Bhagavān Vāmana at night with a water-pot, umbrella, sandals, staff, sacred thread and deerskin beside it, worships him by rule, bows and prays:
अनेककर्मनिर्बन्धध्वंसिनं जलशायिनम्।
नतोऽस्मि मधुरावासं माधवं मधुसूदनम् ।।
नमो वामनरूपाय नमस्तेऽस्तु त्रिविक्रम ।
नमस्ते मणिबन्धाय वासुदेव नमोऽस्तु ते॥
नमो नमस्ते गोविन्द वामनेश त्रिविक्रम ।
अघौघसंक्षयं कृत्वा सर्वकामप्रदो भव।anekakarmanirbandhadhvaṃsinaṃ jalaśāyinam |
nato’smi madhurāvāsaṃ mādhavaṃ madhusūdanam ||
namo vāmanarūpāya namaste’stu trivikrama |
namaste maṇibandhāya vāsudeva namo’stu te ||
namo namaste govinda vāmaneśa trivikrama |
aghaughasaṃkshayaṃ kṛtvā sarvakāmaprado bhava |I bow to Mādhava Madhusūdana, who destroys the bonds of many karmas, who lies on the waters, whose dwelling is Madhurā. Salutation to the Vāmana form; salutation to you, Trivikrama. Salutation to you, Maṇibandha; salutation to you, Vāsudeva. Salutation again and again to you, Govinda, Vāmaneśa, Trivikrama. Destroy the flood of pāpa and be the giver of every desire.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 76
The phala
Then Bhagavān Vāmana is laid to rest and the night is kept awake with song and stutis. In the morning the image is worshipped and given to a brāhmaṇa with a mantra, brāhmaṇas are fed, and the devotee eats in silence. He dwells in Vishṇuloka for a manvantara, and then returns as a cakravartī king, generous, free of illness, long-lived and blessed with sons.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 76
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 76