Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 103

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

शक्ति हुताशो ऽद्रिसुता च वस्त्रं दण्डं गुरुः सा कुटिला कमण्डलुम् मालां हरिः शूलधरः पताकां कण्ठे च हारं मघवानुरस्तः

Transliteration

śakti hutāśo 'drisutā ca vastraṃ daṇḍaṃ guruḥ sā kuṭilā kamaṇḍalum mālāṃ hariḥ śūladharaḥ patākāṃ kaṇṭhe ca hāraṃ maghavānurastaḥ

Translation

Agni (Hutāśa) donna une śakti (arme semblable à une lance) ; la fille de la montagne donna un vêtement ; le Guru donna un bâton ; Kuṭilā donna un kamaṇḍalu (vase à eau) ; Hari donna une guirlande ; le Porteur du trident donna un étendard ; et Maghavan (Indra) donna un collier à porter au cou et sur la poitrine.

Word by Word

• śaktiḥ: the spear/weapon (Śakti)
• śaktiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• hutāśaḥ: Agni (fire-god)
• hutāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hutāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• adri-sutā: daughter of the mountain (Pārvatī)
• adri-sutā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adri (प्रातिपदिक) + sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vastram: garment/cloth
• vastram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• daṇḍam: staff/rod
• daṇḍam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• guruḥ: the teacher (Bṛhaspati)
• guruḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• kuṭilā: crooked/curved
• kuṭilā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṭila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (adjective)

• kamaṇḍalum: water-pot (kamaṇḍalu)
• kamaṇḍalum: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamaṇḍalu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• mālām: garland
• mālām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• śūla-dharaḥ: trident-bearer (Śiva)
• śūla-dharaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुष (instrument/possessive sense: 'bearing a trident')

• patākām: banner/flag
• patākām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patākā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kaṇṭhe: on the neck
• kaṇṭhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• hāram: necklace
• hāram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• maghavān: Maghavan (Indra)
• maghavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maghavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• urastaḥ: on/from the chest-front
• urastaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative, 5th), एकवचन (Singular); अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः (adverbial: 'from/on the chest-front')

Speakers

• Narratorial voice listing donations/assignments of emblems within the tīrtha-mahātmya frame

Primary Deities

• Agni
• Pārvatī (as Adri-sutā)
• Bṛhaspati (as Guru)
• Viṣṇu (Hari)
• Śiva (Śūladhara)
• Indra (Maghavan)

Key Themes

• Ritual emblems and divine endowments
• Shaiva-Vaishnava unity (Hari and Śūladhara together)
• Tīrtha as a ritual-assemblage (objects, standards, garlands)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does a tīrtha-māhātmya list objects like staff, banner, garland, and kamaṇḍalu?

Such lists encode the ritual identity of a sacred site: the tīrtha is not only a place to bathe but a locus with prescribed symbols, guardianship, and liturgical ‘equipment.’ The objects function as markers of authority (daṇḍa), ascetic sanctity (kamaṇḍalu), victory/visibility (patākā), and devotional offering (mālā, hāra).

Does the presence of Hari and Śūladhara indicate sectarian synthesis?

Yes. The verse places Viṣṇu (Hari) and Śiva (Śūladhara) in a single coordinated act of bestowal, a common Purāṇic strategy to present tīrthas as pan-sectarian spaces where multiple divine powers cooperate.

Who is “Kuṭilā” here—an epithet or a specific figure?

Grammatically it reads as a proper name within the donation list (“sā kuṭilā kamaṇḍalum…”). In tīrtha catalogues, such names often denote localized śaktis/attendants incorporated into the broader Purāṇic pantheon; without additional nearby verses, it is safest to treat Kuṭilā as a named feminine power associated with the site’s ritual ecology.