Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 120
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
एवं तवोक्तं महिषासुरस्य वधं त्रिनेत्रात्मजशक्तिभेदात् क्रौञ्चस्य मृत्युः शरणागतार्थं पापापहं पुण्यविवर्धनं च
evaṃ tavoktaṃ mahiṣāsurasya vadhaṃ trinetrātmajaśaktibhedāt krauñcasya mṛtyuḥ śaraṇāgatārthaṃ pāpāpahaṃ puṇyavivardhanaṃ ca
Thus has it been declared to you: the slaying of Mahiṣāsura through the piercing power of the weapon of the Three-eyed One’s son (Skanda); and the death of Krauñca (the mountain/demon), undertaken for the sake of one who sought refuge—these are destroyers of sin and increasers of merit.
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FAQs
Purāṇas often attach phala (spiritual result) to hearing/reciting or contemplating divine deeds. Here, Skanda’s victories—especially those framed as protection of a śaraṇāgata—are treated as dharmic acts whose narration functions as a purifier for the listener/reciter.
It compresses the idea that Skanda, son of the Three-eyed Śiva, pierces/splits the enemy by his śakti (spear). The compound highlights both lineage (Śiva’s son) and instrument (the śakti) as the decisive divine agency.
Across related Skanda traditions, Krauñca is an obstructive force—often a mountain personified or an asuric entity—whose ‘death’ signifies removal of a cosmic/territorial blockage. The verse frames it ethically: done for the sake of a refuge-seeker.