Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 112
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
सुनाभमभ्येत्य हिमाचलस्तु प्रगृह्य हस्ते ऽन्यत एव नीतवान् हरिः कुमारं सशिखण्डिनं नयद्वेगाद्दिवं पन्नगशत्रुपत्रः
sunābhamabhyetya himācalastu pragṛhya haste 'nyata eva nītavān hariḥ kumāraṃ saśikhaṇḍinaṃ nayadvegāddivaṃ pannagaśatrupatraḥ
Approaching Sunābha, Himācala seized him by the hand and led him away elsewhere. And Hari, the enemy of serpents—Garuḍa-bannered—swiftly carried the youth, adorned with a crest, up to heaven.
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FAQs
Purāṇas frequently personify major geographic features (mountains, rivers) as conscious agents. This both sacralizes the landscape and integrates ‘geography’ into mythic causality—Himācala can intervene like a dignitary in divine affairs.
It identifies Viṣṇu through his emblem: Garuḍa, the serpent-enemy, as his banner/standard (dhvaja). The compound is a poetic marker for Viṣṇu’s presence and authority in the scene.
In immediate continuity with the prior verse, it most naturally refers to the young Bali. The crest (śikhaṇḍa) denotes a youthful warrior’s topknot/ornament, emphasizing his status as kumāra and combatant.