Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 79
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
गदया मूर्ध्नि बाणं हि निजघान महाबलः वेदनार्त्तो मुमोचाथ सुचक्राक्षं महासुरः स चापि तेन संयुक्तो व्रीडायुक्तो महामनाः
gadayā mūrdhni bāṇaṃ hi nijaghāna mahābalaḥ vedanārtto mumocātha sucakrākṣaṃ mahāsuraḥ sa cāpi tena saṃyukto vrīḍāyukto mahāmanāḥ
Darauf schlug der Mächtige Bāṇa mit der Keule auf den Kopf. Von Schmerz gequält stieß jener große Asura — dessen Augen wie kunstvoll geschmiedete Räder waren — einen Schrei aus. Und auch er, so getroffen, war, obgleich hochgesinnt, von Scham erfüllt.
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FAQs
The name ‘Bāṇa’ can denote different Asura figures across Purāṇic corpora. In this local battle narration, it functions as a combatant among the Daityas/Asuras; identification with the well-known Bāṇāsura (son of Bali in some traditions) is possible but not guaranteed without surrounding verses specifying lineage and setting.
Literally ‘having beautiful/well-formed wheel-like eyes,’ it is a poetic marker of fierce brilliance and intimidating gaze. Such epithets often signal a warrior’s terrifying presence rather than a literal anatomical description.
Purāṇic battle descriptions frequently pair physical injury with moral-psychological states. ‘Vrīḍā’ here underscores loss of face and the warrior’s diminished standing, foreshadowing withdrawal or tactical retreat.