Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 20

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

ततो दशसु पूर्णेषु शरद्दशशतेष्वथ बालार्कदीप्तिः संजातो बालः कमललोचनः

Transliteration

tato daśasu pūrṇeṣu śaraddaśaśateṣvatha bālārkadīptiḥ saṃjāto bālaḥ kamalalocanaḥ

Translation

Then, when ten hundred autumns had been completed, a child arose, radiant like the rising sun—an infant with lotus-like eyes.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (काल/देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (ततः अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (ततः = thereafter/from that)

• daśasu: in ten
• daśasu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśan (दशन्/दश प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (Count) Puṃliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (सप्तमी/loc.), Bahuvacana

• pūrṇeṣu: completed/fulfilled
• pūrṇeṣu: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (पूर्ण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Bahuvacana; agrees with daśasu

• śarat: autumn
• śarat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarat (शरत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (gen.) in compound relation; first member of compound

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (दश प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral; compound member

• śateṣu: in hundreds (of years)
• śateṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (शत प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī, Bahuvacana; dvigu/tatpuruṣa sense: ‘in hundreds of ten autumns’ (= in a thousand autumns)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; discourse particle (अनन्तर/then)

• bāla: young/child
• bāla: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (बाल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Compound member

• arka: sun
• arka: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arka (अर्क प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Compound member

• dīptiḥ: radiance
• dīptiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpti (दीप्ति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘brightness like that of the young sun’ (बालार्कस्य दीप्तिः)

• saṃjātaḥ: was born/arose
• saṃjātaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √jan (सम् + जन् धातु)
• Form: Kta-participle (क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicative

• bālaḥ: the child
• bālaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (बाल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kamala: lotus
• kamala: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamala (कमल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Compound member

• locanaḥ: lotus-eyed
• locanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: locana (लोचन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: ‘one whose eyes are like lotuses’ (कमलानि लोचनानि यस्य)

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) continuing the description of events at Śaravaṇa

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Śarva)

Key Themes

• Miraculous birth after long time-span
• Divine radiance as sign of avatāra/theophany
• Purāṇic time-reckoning via seasons
• Sacred place as womb of revelation

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

How should ‘śarad-daśa-śateṣu’ be understood—literally ‘a thousand autumns’?

Yes. Purāṇic diction often uses seasons as year-markers; ‘ten hundreds of autumns’ indicates an extraordinarily long gestation/interval, heightening the miraculous nature of the ensuing birth.

Does ‘kamala-locana’ necessarily identify Viṣṇu?

It is a strong Vaiṣṇava epithet, but Purāṇic poetry can apply it more broadly as a marker of divinity and auspiciousness. Identification should be made from the surrounding narrative (next verses often clarify the figure’s identity and role).

Why compare the child’s radiance to the ‘young sun’?

The ‘bāla-arka’ simile conveys both gentleness and irresistible brilliance—an omen that the newborn is not ordinary but a world-affecting presence, appropriate to a sacred-grove setting already ‘golden’ from Śiva’s tejas.