Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 114
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
तं प्राह विष्णुर्व्रज तीर्थवर्थं पृथूदकं पापतरोः कुठारम् स्नात्वौघवत्यां हरमीक्ष्य भक्त्या भविष्यसे सूर्यसमप्रभावः
taṃ prāha viṣṇurvraja tīrthavarthaṃ pṛthūdakaṃ pāpataroḥ kuṭhāram snātvaughavatyāṃ haramīkṣya bhaktyā bhaviṣyase sūryasamaprabhāvaḥ
Viṣṇu le dijo: «Ve al tīrtha llamado Pṛthūdaka, un hacha que derriba el árbol del pecado. Tras bañarte en el río Oghavatī y contemplar a Hara con devoción, resplandecerás como el sol».
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FAQs
Pṛthūdaka is a named tīrtha, widely associated in broader Purāṇic/Itihāsa geography with the Kurukṣetra sacred region. The verse uses a standard mahātmya metaphor: sin is a deeply rooted ‘tree’ (pāpa-taru), and the tīrtha functions like an axe (kuṭhāra) that cuts it down decisively—i.e., it is presented as a powerful prāyaścitta-site.
The prescription combines karma (ritual act: snāna) and bhakti (devotional act: darśana). Theologically, it also models Shaiva–Vaishnava concord: Viṣṇu authorizes and directs the penitent toward Śiva’s darśana, implying complementary salvific roles rather than sectarian rivalry.
In Purāṇic idiom, solar radiance indicates restored tejas: purity, auspiciousness, and regained spiritual-luster after expiation. It can imply both an outwardly visible splendor and an inward rehabilitation of merit and dignity.