Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Coronation, Shloka 45
Andhaka’s Coronation, Boons from Shiva, and the Daiva–Asura War (Vahana Catalogues)
तस्मिञ्शिवाघोररवे प्रवृत्ते मुरासुराणां सुभयङ्करे ह युद्धं बभौ प्राणपणेपविद्धं द्वन्द्वे ऽतिशस्त्राक्षगतो दुरोदरः // वम्प्_9.44 हिरण्यचक्षुस्तनयो रणे ऽन्धको रथे स्थितो वाजिसहस्रयोजिते मत्तेभष्टष्टस्थितमुग्रतेजसं समेयिवान् देवपतिं शतक्रतुम्
tasmiñśivāghorarave pravṛtte murāsurāṇāṃ subhayaṅkare ha yuddhaṃ babhau prāṇapaṇepaviddhaṃ dvandve 'tiśastrākṣagato durodaraḥ // VamP_9.44 hiraṇyacakṣustanayo raṇe 'ndhako rathe sthito vājisahasrayojite mattebhaṣṭaṣṭasthitamugratejasaṃ sameyivān devapatiṃ śatakratum
When the dreadful roar of Śiva arose, terrifying the hosts of the Daityas, the battle blazed forth—each staking his very life. In the duel, the mighty (Durodara), whose eyes were fixed upon a multitude of weapons, advanced. Andhaka, son of Hiraṇyākṣa, stood in battle upon a chariot yoked with a thousand horses, furnished with eight rutting elephants and of fierce splendor, and he came forth to meet Śatakratu (Indra), the lord of the gods.
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FAQs
The verse frames warfare as a field where dharma is tested through courage and resolve—combatants ‘stake life itself’ (prāṇa-paṇa). It also implies that divine presence (here, Śiva’s awe-inspiring roar) can function as a cosmic signal that the conflict has reached a decisive, fate-bearing phase.
This belongs to Vaṁśānucarita/Carita-type narration (accounts of beings and their exploits), specifically the Deva–Asura struggle episodes commonly embedded within dynastic and heroic narratives rather than sarga/pratisarga cosmogenesis.
Śiva’s ‘aghora’ roar operating in a Deva–Asura battlefield subtly reinforces the Purāṇic non-exclusivism: even where Indra is the immediate divine leader, Śiva’s power is portrayed as an active cosmic force shaping outcomes—hinting at complementary divine agency rather than sectarian separation.