Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 79

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

अष्टबाहुं ददौ काशी सुबाहुमपि गण्डकी महानदी चित्रदेवं चित्रा चित्ररथं ददौ

Transliteration

aṣṭabāhuṃ dadau kāśī subāhumapi gaṇḍakī mahānadī citradevaṃ citrā citrarathaṃ dadau

Translation

Kāśī produced Aṣṭabāhu; Gaṇḍakī also produced Subāhu. Mahānadī produced Citradeva; and Citrā produced Citraratha.

Word by Word

• अष्टबाहुम्: Aṣṭabāhu (eight-armed; name)
• अष्टबाहुम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्ट-बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः द्विगुः (अष्टौ बाहवो यस्य)

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• काशी: Kāśī
• काशी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नदी/देश-नाम (proper noun)

• सुबाहुम्: Subāhu (good-armed; name)
• सुबाहुम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु-बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (सुन्दरः बाहुः)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• गण्डकी: (River) Gaṇḍakī
• गण्डकी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण्डकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• महानदी: (River) Mahānadī
• महानदी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महती नदी)

• चित्रदेवम्: Citradeva (name)
• चित्रदेवम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र-देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (चित्रः देवः)

• चित्रा: Citrā
• चित्रा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नदी/नाम (proper noun)

• चित्ररथम्: Citraratha (name)
• चित्ररथम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र-रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (चित्रः रथः)

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) continuing the tīrtha-linked list (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt).

Key Themes

• Tīrtha Mahimā and sacred-place potency
• Geographical sacralization through named manifestations
• Mythic etiology of heroic/superhuman figures

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘Kāśī’ here the famous Vārāṇasī, and why is it placed alongside rivers?

Kāśī is best read as the renowned sacred region/tīrtha (Vārāṇasī) in the broader Purāṇic imagination. The chapter’s method is to interweave rivers and famed holy places into one sacral geography, treating both as generative loci of merit and mythic manifestation.

What do figures like ‘Aṣṭabāhu’ (eight-armed) indicate in a tīrtha list?

They signal superhuman or semi-divine qualities. The text uses such names to encode the tīrtha’s extraordinary efficacy—its capacity to ‘produce’ beings marked by divine attributes.

How should we understand ‘Mahānadī’ and ‘Citrā’ in this context?

They function as named waterways within the Purāṇic sacred map. By attaching specific named outcomes (Citradeva, Citraratha), the text gives each river a distinctive mythic identity, aiding both memorization and ritual-geographical orientation.