Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 99
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
मूढ किं ते बलं बाह्वोः शारीरं चापि वृत्रहन् येनाधिक्षिपसे मां त्वं ध्रुवं न मतिमानसि
mūḍha kiṃ te balaṃ bāhvoḥ śārīraṃ cāpi vṛtrahan yenādhikṣipase māṃ tvaṃ dhruvaṃ na matimānasi
মূঢ়! হে বৃত্রহन्, তোর বাহুতে কী বল, আর শরীরে কী শক্তি, যে তুই আমাকে চ্যালেঞ্জ করছিস? নিশ্চয়ই তুই বুদ্ধিমান নোস।
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FAQs
The epithet acknowledges Indra’s famed deed (slaying Vṛtra) yet relativizes it: past glory does not guarantee present supremacy. The rhetorical move both concedes reputation and asserts a higher current authority (Kumāra’s martial preeminence).
In this confrontational register, it can carry the sense of ‘to hurl oneself against / to assail verbally.’ Given the immediate dialogue setting, it primarily denotes presumptuous challenge or revilement, with an implied readiness for conflict.
It frames the dispute as not merely about strength but about discernment and rightful conduct. In Purāṇic ethics, lack of mati (sound judgment) leads to adharma and downfall; the line warns that arrogance blinds even powerful rulers.