Shloka 30

Indra's Campaign on Mount Malaya — Indra’s Campaign on Mount Malaya and the Birth of the Maruts (Origin of the Epithet Gotrabhid)

Devanagari script

प्रविश्य जठरं क्रुद्धो दैत्यमातुः पुरन्दरः ददर्शोर्ध्वमुकं बालं कटिन्यस्तकरं महत्

Transliteration

praviśya jaṭharaṃ kruddho daityamātuḥ purandaraḥ dadarśordhvamukaṃ bālaṃ kaṭinyastakaraṃ mahat

Translation

Purandara (Indra), enraged, entered the womb of the Daitya’s mother. There he saw a great child, facing upward, with his hands placed upon his hips.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic sūta-style narration) describing Indra’s action; addressed to the listening sage/audience (not specified in the excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Indra

Key Themes

• Deva–Asura antagonism
• Foetal/embryonic myth motif
• Krodha (wrath) as narrative catalyst
• Portentous birth of an asura figure

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Indra ‘enter the womb’ in Purāṇic narratives?

This is a recurring Purāṇic motif where a deity attempts to prevent or control the birth of a powerful asura by intervening at the embryonic stage. It dramatizes cosmic anxiety about imbalance and foreshadows the asura’s extraordinary destiny.

What does ‘ūrdhvamukha’ (facing upward) suggest here?

It marks the child as unusual and portentous. Such physical descriptors in Purāṇas often function as omens indicating exceptional power, abnormal origin, or a destiny tied to major divine conflict.

Is this passage already about Śiva, given the ‘Andhaka Vadha’ frame?

Indirectly. Although Śiva is not named in these three verses, the Andhaka cycle culminates in Śiva’s confrontation; Indra’s intervention here sets up the conditions for that later Śaiva resolution.