Shloka 49
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
उस यज्ञके अन्तमें देवताओंके साथ दानवों, दैत्यों तथा राक्षसोंका महान् एवं भयंकर तारकामय संग्राम हुआ था, जिसमें स्कन्दने तारकासुरका वध किया था ।।
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
tasya yajñasya ante devaiḥ sārdhaṃ dānavadaityarākṣasānāṃ mahān bhayaṅkaraś ca tārakāmayaḥ saṅgrāmo 'bhavat, yasmin skandena tārakāsuro hataḥ ||
saināpatyaṃ labdhavān devatānāṃ mahāseno yatra daityāntakartā |
sākṣāc caivaṃ nyavasat kārtikeyaḥ sadā kumāro yatra sa plakṣarājaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : À l’issue de ce sacrifice s’éleva une bataille immense et terrible, étincelante comme des étoiles (tārakā-), entre les dieux et les Dānavas, Daityas et Rākṣasas ; en elle Skanda tua Tārakāsura. Là, Mahāsena Kārtikeya, destructeur des Daityas, accepta le commandement de l’armée des dieux ; et là même, où se dresse le plakṣa, roi des arbres, on dit que le toujours jeune Kumāra Kārtikeya demeure en personne en ce gué sacré.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links sacred order (yajña and tīrtha) with the ethical necessity of protection: when destructive forces threaten the world, rightful authority is entrusted to a capable guardian (Kārtikeya as commander). It frames warfare as dharmic only when it serves the restraint of adharma and the safeguarding of cosmic and social stability.
At the end of a sacrifice, a fierce battle erupts between the gods and hostile beings (Dānavas, Daityas, Rākṣasas). Skanda/Kārtikeya kills Tārakāsura, receives the post of commander-in-chief of the gods, and is described as dwelling in person at a particular tīrtha marked by a foremost plakṣa tree.