Shloka 11

Matsya Purana — The Slaying of Tāraka: Skanda’s Śakti and the Victory of the Devas

Devanagari script

गदां मुमोच दैत्याय षण्मुखः परमस्वनाम् तया हतस्ततो दैत्यश् चकम्पे ऽचलराडिव //

Transliteration

gadāṃ mumoca daityāya ṣaṇmukhaḥ paramasvanām tayā hatastato daityaś cakampe 'calarāḍiva //

Translation

Ṣaṇmukha (Skanda) hurled at the Daitya a mace that roared with an overwhelming sound; struck by it, the demon reeled and trembled like the king of mountains.

Word by Word

• गदाम् (gadām): a mace

• मुमोच (mumoca): hurled, released

• दैत्याय (daityāya): at/against the Daitya (demon)

• षण्मुखः (ṣaṇmukhaḥ): the Six-faced one (Skanda/Kārttikeya)

• परमस्वनाम् (paramasvanām): having a very great/terrible sound

• तया (tayā): by that (mace)

• हतः (hataḥ): struck, smitten

• ततः (tataḥ): then, thereafter

• दैत्यः (daityaḥ): the demon

• चकम्पे (cakampe): trembled, shook

• अचलराड् (acalarāṭ): king of mountains (a great mountain)

• इव (iva): like.

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) relating the battle account (within the Matsya Purana’s narration)

Entities Mentioned

• Ṣaṇmukha (Skanda/Kārttikeya)
• Daitya

Tags

• Deva–Daitya battle
• Skanda
• Divine weapons
• Puranic warfare
• Heroic narrative

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse is not about Pralaya; it is a battlefield image highlighting divine power—Skanda’s weapon-strike makes the demon quake like a mountain.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

Indirectly, it models the ideal of protecting order (dharma) by restraining destructive forces; the Purana often uses such combat imagery to underscore the necessity of courage and disciplined force when righteousness is threatened.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is specified here; the key takeaway is the Purāṇic poetic convention of comparing impact and stability to a mountain (acala), a metaphor sometimes echoed in temple-stotra imagery but not a technical rule in this verse.