Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 86
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
हत्वा कुमारो रणमुर्ध्नि तारकं प्रगृह्य शक्तिं महता जवेन मयूरमारुह्य शिखण्डमण्डितं ययौ निहन्तुं महिषासुरस्य
hatvā kumāro raṇamurdhni tārakaṃ pragṛhya śaktiṃ mahatā javena mayūramāruhya śikhaṇḍamaṇḍitaṃ yayau nihantuṃ mahiṣāsurasya
ৰণৰ শীৰ্ষক্ষণত তাৰকক বধ কৰি, কুমাৰে শক্তি ধৰি মহা বেগেৰে, শিখামণ্ডিত ময়ূৰত আৰোহণ কৰি, মহিষাসুৰক নিধন কৰিবলৈ যাত্ৰা কৰিলে।
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FAQs
Śakti is Skanda’s signature weapon, symbolizing concentrated divine power and decisive martial agency. In many Purāṇic tellings, it marks Skanda as the appointed instrument for removing demonically entrenched obstacles to cosmic order.
The peacock is Skanda’s canonical vāhana. Beyond iconography, it signals mastery over poisonous/chaotic forces (the peacock’s mythic association with subduing serpents/venom), aligning with Skanda’s role as subduer of asuras.
Yes. The verse explicitly links the slaying of Tāraka to the immediate resolve to kill Mahiṣāsura, presenting a sequential campaign motif: once one destabilizing asura is removed, the divine commander turns to the next threat.