Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 71

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

यमः प्रमाथमुन्माथं कालसेनं महामुखम् तालपत्रं नाडिजङ्घं षडेवानुचरान् ददौ

Transliteration

yamaḥ pramāthamunmāthaṃ kālasenaṃ mahāmukham tālapatraṃ nāḍijaṅghaṃ ṣaḍevānucarān dadau

Translation

31

Word by Word

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• प्रमाथम्: Pramātha (name)
• प्रमाथम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• उन्माथम्: Unmātha (name)
• उन्माथम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उन्माथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• कालसेनम्: Kālasena (name)
• कालसेनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + सेना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—कालस्य सेना (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• महामुखम्: Mahāmukha (name; ‘great-faced’)
• महामुखम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (नाम), द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—महान् मुखः (कर्मधारय)

• तालपत्रम्: Tālapātra (name; ‘palm-leaf’)
• तालपत्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताल + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तालस्य पत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• नाडिजङ्घम्: Nāḍijaṅgha (name)
• नाडिजङ्घम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाडि + जङ्घा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (नाम), द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—नाड्याः जङ्घा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• षट्: six
• षट्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् (संख्याशब्द)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत्; विशेषणम् (अनुचरान्)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• अनुचरान्: attendants
• अनुचरान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; अर्थः—‘gave’

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) continuing the list of attendants contributed by deities

Primary Deities

• Yama
• Skanda (implied recipient in the sequence)
• Śiva (implied through Pramatha category)

Key Themes

• Divine bureaucracy of attendants
• Personifications of death/time as martial forces
• Cataloguing of gaṇa names

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why does Yama, a dharma-judge, supply attendants in a battle-oriented list?

Purāṇic narratives often mobilize the entire cosmic administration for demon-slaying: Yama represents the coercive/disciplinary power of dharma. His attendants’ names (e.g., Kālasena) emphasize time/death as inevitable forces aligned with restoring cosmic order.

The verse says “six attendants,” but only five names appear—how is this understood?

Such list-verses sometimes compress or suffer minor transmission issues. Traditional handling includes: (a) assuming one additional name is omitted in the received text; (b) reading “pramātham” as a separate named attendant (“Pramātha”) plus Unmātha, yielding six; or (c) treating one compound as two entities. A critical edition or parallel manuscripts would decide.

Do these attendants belong to Yama or to Śiva/Skanda?

They are given by Yama but function as anucaras in the larger coalition—typically becoming part of Skanda’s or Śiva’s operational host for the narrative’s conflict.