Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 39
कार्त्तिकेयस्ततः शक्त्या निचकर्त रिपोः शिरः । तच्छिरो निपपातोर्व्यां तारकस्य च तत्क्षणात् । एवं स जयमापेदे कार्त्तिकेयो महाप्रभुः
kārttikeyastataḥ śaktyā nicakarta ripoḥ śiraḥ | tacchiro nipapātorvyāṃ tārakasya ca tatkṣaṇāt | evaṃ sa jayamāpede kārttikeyo mahāprabhuḥ
Alors Kārttikeya, de sa śakti (lance divine), trancha la tête de l’ennemi. À l’instant même, la tête de Tāraka tomba sur la terre. Ainsi le puissant seigneur Kārttikeya remporta la victoire.
Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha kṣetra (contextual frame)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Kārttikeya, radiant and youthful, drives his śakti through the asura; the severed head of Tāraka falls to earth as devas look on in astonishment; the battlefield is set against a Himalayan, Kedāra-like grandeur.
FAQs
Adharma is decisively overcome when divine power is aligned with righteous purpose; dharma ultimately prevails.
The episode is narrated within the Kedārakhaṇḍa framework, linking the victory narrative to Kedāra’s sacred landscape.
None is specified; this is a battlefield narrative describing the demon’s defeat.