Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 64

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

उत्केसं पङ्कजं शक्रो रविर्दण्डकपिङ्गलौ चन्द्रो मणिं वसुमणिमश्विनौ वत्सनन्दिनौ

Transliteration

utkesaṃ paṅkajaṃ śakro ravirdaṇḍakapiṅgalau candro maṇiṃ vasumaṇimaśvinau vatsanandinau

Translation

Indra (Śakra) bestowed the epithets “Utkesa” and “Paṅkaja”; the Sun (Ravi) bestowed “Daṇḍaka” and “Piṅgala”; the Moon (Candra) bestowed “Maṇi”; the Vasus bestowed “Vasumaṇi”; and the Aśvins bestowed “Vatsanandinā”.

Word by Word

• उत्केसम्: Utkesa (name)
• उत्केसम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्केस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पङ्कजम्: Paṅkaja (name)
• पङ्कजम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पङ्कज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शक्रः: Śakra (Indra)
• शक्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रविः: Ravi (Sun)
• रविः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दण्डकपिङ्गलौ: Daṇḍaka and Piṅgala (two names)
• दण्डकपिङ्गलौ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्डक + पिङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (दण्डकश्च पिङ्गलश्च)

• चन्द्रः: Candra (Moon)
• चन्द्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मणिम्: Maṇi (name)
• मणिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वसुमणिम्: Vasumaṇi (name)
• वसुमणिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु + मणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (वसु-नामकः मणिः / वसोर् मणिः)

• अश्विनौ: the Aśvins (twin gods)
• अश्विनौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन

• वत्सनन्दिनौ: Vatsanandin (two named attendants)
• वत्सनन्दिनौ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सनन्दिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (वत्सनन्दी च वत्सनन्दी च / द्वौ)

Speakers

• Narratorial/ṛṣi discourse within Adhyāya 31 (speaker not specified in the excerpt) describing devatā-bestowed sacred epithets.

Primary Deities

• Indra (Śakra)
• Sūrya (Ravi)
• Candra (Soma)
• Vasus
• Aśvins

Key Themes

• Tīrtha Mahimā
• Devatā-sañjñā (divine naming)
• Auspicious epithets and iconography
• Vedic deity integration into Purāṇic pilgrimage lore

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of listing these names (Utkesa, Paṅkaja, etc.) in a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter?

Such lists act as a ‘devatā-pramāṇa’—a legitimizing register that ties a sacred presence (often a liṅga, shrine, or tīrtha-deity) to multiple Vedic/Purāṇic gods. The epithets encode qualities (radiance, discipline, fertility, purity) that pilgrims are meant to contemplate and ritually invoke.

Do these epithets indicate different deities, or different aspects of one sacred object?

In māhātmya literature, the same sacred locus is frequently praised through many names bestowed by different gods. The intent is not polytheistic fragmentation but layered sacrality: one tīrtha/shrine is ‘seen’ through multiple divine lenses.

Why are solar and lunar deities (Ravi, Candra) prominent in the naming?

Pilgrimage texts often map cosmic order onto geography. Solar/lunar epithets (Piṅgala, Maṇi) sacralize the site as a microcosm of time, light, and auspicious rhythm—key to vows, bathing rites, and calendrical observances.