Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 22

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

प्राचीं दिग् रक्षतां वज्री दक्षिणां दण्डनायकः पाशी प्रतीचीं रक्षतु लक्ष्मामशुः पातु चोत्तराम्

Transliteration

prācīṃ dig rakṣatāṃ vajrī dakṣiṇāṃ daṇḍanāyakaḥ pāśī pratīcīṃ rakṣatu lakṣmāmaśuḥ pātu cottarām

Translation

May the wielder of the thunderbolt (vajra) protect the eastern direction; may the lord of punishment, the staff-bearing ruler (daṇḍa), protect the southern direction; may the noose-bearer (pāśa) protect the western direction; and may Lakṣmāmaśu protect the northern direction.

Word by Word

• prācīm: the eastern (direction)
• prācīm: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prācī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• dik: direction
• dik: Karma (कर्म/Object; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); form 'dik' for 'diś'

• rakṣatām: may (they) protect
• rakṣatām: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural; Vedic/benedictive-style usage: 'let (them) protect'

• vajrī: the thunderbolt-bearer (Indra)
• vajrī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• dakṣiṇām: the southern (direction)
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• daṇḍa-nāyakaḥ: lord of punishment (Yama)
• daṇḍa-nāyakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (daṇḍasya nāyakaḥ)

• pāśī: the noose-bearer (Varuṇa)
• pāśī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• pratīcīm: the western (direction)
• pratīcīm: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratīcī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• rakṣatu: may (he) protect
• rakṣatu: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular (एकवचन)

• lakṣmām: Lakṣmī (goddess)
• lakṣmām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• aśuḥ: the swift one
• aśuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• pātu: may (he) protect
• pātu: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय)

• uttarām: the northern (direction)
• uttarām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Not specified in the provided excerpt (contextually a narrator/teacher voice within the Saromahatmiya section reciting a protective formula).

Primary Deities

• Indra (Vajrī)
• Yama (Daṇḍanāyaka, likely)
• Varuṇa or Yama (Pāśī, noose-bearer)
• Lakṣmāmaśu (as named in the verse)

Key Themes

• Dikpāla protection (guardians of directions)
• Ritual safeguarding of space
• Mantric/ritual stuti within tīrtha-context narration

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are the deities implied by the epithets vajrī, daṇḍanāyakaḥ, and pāśī?

Vajrī is conventionally Indra (holder of the vajra). Daṇḍanāyaka (“lord of the staff/punishment”) is a standard epithet of Yama as cosmic judge. Pāśī (“noose-bearer”) can denote Varuṇa (whose emblem is the pāśa) or Yama (who also carries a noose); the verse uses functional epithets rather than explicit names.

What is the ritual function of listing directional protectors in a Purāṇic chapter?

Such verses sacralize and ‘seal’ the ritual space: the quarters are assigned guardians so that pilgrimage, worship, recitation, or bathing at a tīrtha is performed within a protected cosmic mandala. This is common in māhātmya-style chapters.

Does this verse contain geographical data typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not directly. It is a liturgical/directional protection unit. The geographical anchoring (tīrtha name, river, or locale) typically appears in surrounding verses of the māhātmya, not in this specific śloka.