Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 120

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

जम्भमुष्टिनिपातेन भग्नकुम्भकटो गजः निपपात यथा शैलः शक्रवज्रहतः पुरा

Transliteration

jambhamuṣṭinipātena bhagnakumbhakaṭo gajaḥ nipapāta yathā śailaḥ śakravajrahataḥ purā

Translation

Struck down by Jambha’s fist-blow, the elephant—its temples and frontal region shattered—fell to the ground like a mountain, as if formerly smitten by Indra’s thunderbolt.

Speakers

• Narrator (Sūta/paurāṇika voice) describing the battle to the listening sages (frame not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Indra (Śakra)

Key Themes

• Deva–Asura conflict
• Battle imagery and hyperbole
• Indra’s vulnerability despite vajra symbolism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is the ‘elephant’ in this verse—an ordinary gaja or Indra’s mount?

Although the verse says simply ‘gajaḥ’ (elephant), the immediate context (next verse: Śakra falls) strongly implies Indra’s elephant (traditionally Airāvata). The poet uses ‘dvipendra’/‘gaja’ as an epic shorthand for the divine mount.

Why compare the fall to a mountain struck by Indra’s vajra?

The simile intensifies the impact: a massive body collapses with the inevitability of a mountain’s downfall. It also creates irony—Indra’s own emblematic weapon (vajra) becomes the measure of force that now seems turned against him.

What does ‘bhagnakumbhakaṭaḥ’ convey anatomically?

‘Kumbha’ denotes the elephant’s frontal/temple prominences; ‘kaṭa’ here points to the cheek/temple region. Together they depict a crushing blow to the head/temples, a conventional sign of decisive defeat in battle descriptions.