Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 54
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
शङ्कुकर्णश्च मुसली हलेनाकृष्य दानवान् संचूर्णयति मन्त्रीव राजानं प्रासभृद् वशी
śaṅkukarṇaśca musalī halenākṛṣya dānavān saṃcūrṇayati mantrīva rājānaṃ prāsabhṛd vaśī
মুসলধারী শঙ্কুকর্ণ হাল দিয়ে দানবদের টেনে এনে চূর্ণ করল—যেমন শক্তিমান মন্ত্রী বর্শাধারী রাজাকে দমন করে।
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Not necessarily. ‘Hala’ is a common noun meaning plough and can function as a weapon in purāṇic battle scenes. Without explicit identification (e.g., ‘Baladeva’, ‘Saṅkarṣaṇa’), it is best read as weapon-description of Śaṅkukarṇa.
It imports a political metaphor into battlefield narration: just as a dominant minister can reduce a king’s agency and ‘crush’ his authority, so Śaṅkukarṇa overwhelms even formidable, weapon-bearing opponents.
No. The verse contains no explicit toponyms (rivers, lakes, forests, tīrthas). Its focus is on combat action and a statecraft simile.