Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 55

The Battle at Mandara: Vinayaka, Nandin, and Skanda Rout the Daitya Hosts

Devanagari script

तान् निवृत्तान् समीक्ष्यैव क्रोधदीप्तेक्षणः श्वशसन् नन्दिषेणो व्याघ्रमुखो निवृत्तश्चापि वेगवान्

Transliteration

tān nivṛttān samīkṣyaiva krodhadīptekṣaṇaḥ śvaśasan nandiṣeṇo vyāghramukho nivṛttaścāpi vegavān

Translation

فلما رآهم قد عادوا، كان ننديشيṇa ذا نظرةٍ متّقدة بالغضب يزفر زفيرًا شديدًا؛ وكذلك فياغراموخا السريع العنيف عاد ليلقاهم.

Speakers

• Narratorial voice describing the gaṇa leaders’ reaction to the Asura return.

Primary Deities

• Śiva

Key Themes

• Wrath as martial energy (krodha as vīrya)
• Gaṇa commanders and named attendants
• Counter-charge and pursuit motifs
• Mythic bestial epithets (Vyāghramukha)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is Vyāghramukha a separate person from Nandiṣeṇa, or an epithet of him?

The syntax can be read either as apposition (Nandiṣeṇa, ‘Tiger-faced’) or as two coordinated gaṇa figures (Nandiṣeṇa and Vyāghramukha). Purāṇic catalogues often list both as distinct attendants; without wider context, both readings remain plausible.

What is conveyed by ‘krodha-dīpta-īkṣaṇaḥ śvaśasan’?

It is a vivid battle trope: wrath manifests physically as blazing eyes and forceful breath. The phrase intensifies the gaṇa’s ferocity and signals an imminent counter-attack.

Does ‘nivṛtta’ here mean retreat or advance?

It means ‘turned back/returned’. Since the Daityas have ‘returned’ to battle in the prior verse, the gaṇa leader likewise ‘turns back’—i.e., wheels around to confront them, implying a renewed engagement rather than withdrawal.