Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 47
Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology
किं ते जितैर्नरैर्दैत्य अजिताननुशासय प्रहर्तुमिच्छसि यदि तं निवारय चान्तकम्
kiṃ te jitairnarairdaitya ajitānanuśāsaya prahartumicchasi yadi taṃ nivāraya cāntakam
«À quoi te servent, ô Daitya, des hommes déjà vaincus ? Dompte ceux qui ne le sont pas. Si tu veux vraiment frapper, retiens aussi Antaka (la Mort).»
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FAQs
It is a rhetorical impossibility meant to humble the aggressor: if he boasts of irresistible power, let him first overcome the universal limit—death. The line exposes the futility of violence as ultimate mastery.
In many Purāṇic contexts Antaka denotes Death/Yama as the ‘ender.’ While Śiva can be called Antaka in some traditions (as destroyer of death), the imperative ‘restrain Antaka’ fits best as ‘stop Death itself,’ i.e., Yama/death-personified.
He reframes ‘valor’ as ethical: attacking the already defeated is ignoble; true strength is self-restraint and confronting appropriate, worthy challenges—especially in a setting meant for yajña and order, not predation.