Vamana Purana — Daksha's Sacrifice & Kapalin Rudra, Shloka 49
Daksha’s Sacrifice and the Origin of Kapalin Rudra (Pulastya–Narada Dialogue)
श्यामावदातः शरचापपाणिर् गर्जन्यथा प्रावृषि तोयदो ऽसौ इत्थं ब्रुवन् कस्य विशातयामि स्कन्धाच्छिरस् तालफलं यथैव
śyāmāvadātaḥ śaracāpapāṇir garjanyathā prāvṛṣi toyado 'sau itthaṃ bruvan kasya viśātayāmi skandhācchiras tālaphalaṃ yathaiva
Dunkel und doch strahlend an Farbe, mit Bogen und Pfeilen in der Hand, brüllte er wie eine Regenwolke zur Monsunzeit. So sprechend prahlte er: „Wessen Haupt werde ich von den Schultern trennen – wie eine Palmyrafrucht, die vom Stiel herabgeschlagen wird?“
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FAQs
The verse depicts unchecked pride (mada) expressed as violent bravado. Purāṇic narratives typically use such boasting to foreshadow the restraining of adharma by a higher, divinely aligned force.
Vamśānucarita / carita-like narrative movement: a martial episode within the broader dynastic and divine-history storytelling, rather than cosmogenesis (sarga) or dissolution (pralaya).
The rain-cloud roar underscores overwhelming, intimidating power, while the ‘palmyra fruit’ simile conveys casual, effortless violence—an emblem of adharma’s arrogance before it is checked by dharmic authority.