Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 20

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

विश्वेश्विनौ साध्यमरुद्गणाग्नयो दिवाकराः शूलधरा महेश्वराः यक्षाः पिशाचा वसवो ऽथ किन्नराः ते स्वस्ति कुर्वन्तु सदोद्यतास्त्वमी // वम्प्_32.19 नागाः सुपर्णाः सरितः सरांसि तीर्थानि पुण्यायतनाः समुद्राः महाबला भूतगणा गणेन्द्राः ते स्वस्ति कुर्वन्तु सदा समुद्यताः

Transliteration

viśveśvinau sādhyamarudgaṇāgnayo divākarāḥ śūladharā maheśvarāḥ yakṣāḥ piśācā vasavo 'tha kinnarāḥ te svasti kurvantu sadodyatāstvamī // VamP_32.19 nāgāḥ suparṇāḥ saritaḥ sarāṃsi tīrthāni puṇyāyatanāḥ samudrāḥ mahābalā bhūtagaṇā gaṇendrāḥ te svasti kurvantu sadā samudyatāḥ

Translation

ليمنحك آلُ فيشڤيديفا (Viśvedevas) والأشفينان (Aśvin) والسادهيات (Sādhya) وجموع الماروت (Marut) وآلهة النار (أغني) وآلهة الشمس، وحملةُ الرمح الثلاثي—المهيشڤرات (Maheśvara)—ومعهم الياكشا (Yakṣa) والبيشاتشا (Piśāca) والفاسو (Vasu) والكينّارا (Kinnara)، وهم دائمًا على أهبة، السلامةَ والبركة. وليمنح الناغا (Nāga) والسوبرنا (Suparṇa من جنس غارودا)، والأنهار والبحيرات، والتيِرثا (tīrtha) —مواطنَ الثواب المقدّسة—والمحيطات، وجموعَ الكائنات القوية وسادةَ الغَنا (gaṇa)، وهم دائمًا مستعدّون، السلامةَ والخير.

Word by Word

• viśve: O Viśvedevas
• viśve: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• aśvinau: O Aśvins
• aśvinau: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Dual (द्विवचन)

• sādhya: O Sādhyas
• sādhya: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• marut-gaṇāḥ: O hosts of Maruts
• marut-gaṇāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: marut (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (marutānāṃ gaṇāḥ)

• agnayaḥ: O Fires (Agni-deities)
• agnayaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• divākarāḥ: O Suns (day-makers)
• divākarāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divā-kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (divāyāḥ karaḥ)

• śūla-dharāḥ: O trident-bearers
• śūla-dharāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (śūlaṃ dharanti)

• maheśvarāḥ: O great lords
• maheśvarāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन); कर्मधारयः (mahān īśvaraḥ)

• yakṣāḥ: O Yakṣas
• yakṣāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• piśācāḥ: O Piśācas
• piśācāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piśāca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• vasavaḥ: O Vasus
• vasavaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• atha: and then / also
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय/अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय)

• kinnarāḥ: O Kinnaras
• kinnarāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kinnara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural (बहुवचन)

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun (सर्वनाम)

• svasti: well-being; auspiciousness
• svasti: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/benediction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svasti (अव्यय)
• Form: Benedictive indeclinable (मङ्गलार्थक अव्यय)

• kurvantu: may (they) do / grant
• kurvantu: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

• udyatāḥ: ready; intent
• udyatāḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ud-yata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/कृत्), from √yam with ud-; Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with te

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात)

• amī: these (those)
• amī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition to te)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); demonstrative pronoun (सर्वनाम)

Speakers

• Narratorial/ritual voice within the chapter’s concluding benediction (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Viśvedevas
• Aśvins
• Sādhyas
• Maruts
• Agni
• Sūrya (Divākara)
• Śiva (implied via Śūladhara/Maheśvara)

Key Themes

• Mangala (auspicious conclusion)
• Cosmic totality invoked as protection
• Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava/Vedic-Paurāṇic inclusivism
• Tīrtha sacrality (tīrthas as puṇyāyatanas)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the benediction list both ‘high’ deities and beings like Yakṣas and Piśācas?

Purāṇic benedictions often aim at comprehensive protection across all realms. By invoking devas, semi-divine classes, and even potentially harmful beings (e.g., piśācas), the text ritually ‘pacifies’ the entire cosmos so that no class obstructs the listener/reciter.

What is the significance of calling tīrthas ‘puṇyāyatanas’?

It encodes a key Māhātmya doctrine: sacred places are not merely locations but ‘seats’ where merit is generated and accessed. The phrase legitimizes pilgrimage and bathing/ritual acts as direct means of accruing puṇya.

Do ‘śūladharā maheśvarāḥ’ indicate a Śaiva layer within the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Yes. Even in texts associated with Viṣṇu, Śaiva epithets and Śiva-linked hosts appear frequently, reflecting Purāṇic ecumenism and the practical aim of invoking all powerful agencies for auspiciousness.