Ritadhvaja’s Aid to Galava and Andhaka’s Infatuation with Gauri
दक्षु सवासु जग्मुस्ताः स्तूयमानाश्च किन्नरैः अन्धको ऽपि स्मृतिं लब्ध्वा अपश्यन्नद्रिनन्दिनीम् स्वबलं निर्जितं दृष्ट्वा ततः पातालमाद्रवात्
dakṣu savāsu jagmustāḥ stūyamānāśca kinnaraiḥ andhako 'pi smṛtiṃ labdhvā apaśyannadrinandinīm svabalaṃ nirjitaṃ dṛṣṭvā tataḥ pātālamādravāt
“They went to their respective abodes, and were praised by the Kinnaras. And Andhaka too, regaining his awareness, saw the Daughter of the Mountain. Seeing his own forces defeated, he then fled swiftly to Pātāla.”
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Kinnaras are celestial beings famed for music and praise. Their stuti marks a narrative closure: after the divine victory, the cosmos responds with celebratory acclaim, underscoring the event’s supra-human significance.
In Purāṇic battle narratives, loss of smṛti can indicate delusion, divine bewilderment, or shock. Regaining smṛti signals a return to self-recognition—immediately followed by recognition of the Goddess (Adrinandinī) and the pragmatic decision to retreat.
Pātāla functions as the asuric refuge and a mapped cosmic region beneath the earth. The verse uses vertical cosmography (earth ↔ netherworld) to depict the asura’s withdrawal from the divine sphere of action to a lower, protective domain.