Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 60

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

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा बलिनां श्रेष्ठः पाशपाणिरयःशिराः संयोधयामास बली विशाखं कुक्कुटध्वजम्

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā balināṃ śreṣṭhaḥ pāśapāṇirayaḥśirāḥ saṃyodhayāmāsa balī viśākhaṃ kukkuṭadhvajam

Translation

فلما رآه أَيَهْشِيرَس—وهو خيرُ رجال جيش بالي (الأسورا)، وفي يده حبلُ الأسر (باشا)—باشر القتال مع فيشاكها، صاحب الراية التي تحمل شعار الديك.

Speakers

• Narrator (Sūta/Itihāsa-style narration) describing the battle to the listening sages (frame not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Śiva
• Skanda/Kārttikeya

Key Themes

• Andhaka-vadha cycle
• Deva–Asura conflict
• Martial iconography (dhvaja/emblems)
• Skanda’s retinue and warfare motifs

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Viśākha here, and why is he marked by a ‘cock-banner’ (kukkuṭa-dhvaja)?

In Purāṇic battle catalogues, Viśākha often appears among Skanda/Kārttikeya’s associates or commanders. The ‘cock’ emblem is strongly linked with Skanda’s martial symbolism (also seen in the broader Skanda/Kumāra tradition), so ‘kukkuṭa-dhvaja’ functions as an identifying epithet within the battlefield narrative.

What does ‘pāśa’ signify as a weapon in Purāṇic warfare?

A pāśa is a noose/lasso weapon used to bind, restrain, or drag an opponent—iconographically prominent for certain deities and also adopted by asura champions in epic-Purāṇic combat descriptions.

Does this verse contribute to the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographical agenda?

Not directly. This is a yuddha-varṇana unit within the Andhaka-vadha material; unlike tīrtha-māhātmya passages, it contains no explicit toponyms or sacred hydrography.