Shloka 45

Battle at Mandara — The Battle at Mandara: Vinayaka, Nandin, and Skanda Rout the Daitya Hosts

Devanagari script

हत्वा कुजम्भं मुसलेन नन्दी वज्रेण वीरः शतशो जघान ते वध्यमाना गणनायकेन दुर्योधनं वै शरणं प्रपन्नाः

Transliteration

hatvā kujambhaṃ musalena nandī vajreṇa vīraḥ śataśo jaghāna te vadhyamānā gaṇanāyakena duryodhanaṃ vai śaraṇaṃ prapannāḥ

Translation

After killing Kujambha with the mace, the heroic Nandī struck down hundreds with a thunderbolt-like weapon. Being slain by the leader of the gaṇas, they indeed sought refuge with Duryodhana.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic recitation voice) summarizing the rout after Kujambha’s death (exact interlocutors not specified in the supplied excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Shiva (implied)
• Nandī

Key Themes

• Rout of hostile forces
• Gaṇa supremacy in the Andhaka cycle
• Śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge) as a battlefield response
• Intertextual naming (Duryodhana) within Purāṇic narrative

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How should ‘vajreṇa’ be understood here—Indra’s Vajra or a ‘vajra-like’ weapon?

Both readings are possible in Purāṇic style. Grammatically it is ‘with a vajra’; contextually it can denote either an actual thunderbolt weapon (often associated with Indra) or a weapon/strike described as thunderbolt-like to convey irresistible force. Without surrounding verses specifying Indra or the weapon’s provenance, a cautious translation keeps ‘vajra’ while noting the idiomatic force.

Why does the verse say the defeated take refuge in ‘Duryodhana’? Is this the Mahābhārata Duryodhana?

The name strongly evokes the Mahābhārata figure, but Purāṇas sometimes reuse famous names for different beings or as epithets meaning ‘hard to fight/overcome’ (dur-yodhana). Determining identity requires the immediate narrative frame in Adhyāya 42 (preceding/following ślokas) and manuscript tradition; from this isolated verse alone, we can only state that a leader named/termed Duryodhana functions as the asylum for the routed group.

What does ‘śaraṇaṃ prapannāḥ’ contribute thematically in a battle passage?

It marks a shift from combat to dependency: once the gaṇa-nāyaka’s superiority is established, the enemy’s agency collapses into refuge-seeking. In Purāṇic ethics, śaraṇāgati can be valorized when directed to a rightful protector; here it also signals panic and defeat.