Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 25

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

वाराहो ऽम्बुनिधौ पातु दुर्गे पातु नृकेसरी सामवेदध्वनिः श्रीमान् सर्वलतः पातु माधवः

Transliteration

vārāho 'mbunidhau pātu durge pātu nṛkesarī sāmavedadhvaniḥ śrīmān sarvalataḥ pātu mādhavaḥ

Translation

Que Varāha me protège dans l’océan ; que Narasiṃha me protège dans le péril ; que Mādhava—de bon augure, résonnant du chant du Sāma-Veda—me protège de toutes parts.

Speakers

• Implied liturgical voice within the svastyayana/kavaca section (narrated in the frame by Pulastya to Nārada)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Varaha)
• Vishnu (Narasimha)
• Vishnu (Madhava)

Key Themes

• Protective stuti (kavaca)
• Vedic sound as auspicious power (Sāmaveda-dhvani)
• Vaishnava avatāra theology
• Directional/locative protection

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘durge’ here the Goddess Durgā or the condition of danger?

In this pāda it functions most naturally as a locative of circumstance—‘in peril/difficulty’—paired with a protector-form (Narasiṃha). While ‘Durgā’ is a major deity-name elsewhere, the syntax here reads as a situational marker within a protective litany: ocean → Varāha; peril → Narasiṃha; all directions → Mādhava.

Why is Varāha invoked specifically ‘in the ocean’ (ambunidhau)?

Varāha’s mythic domain is the cosmic waters: he dives into the oceanic abyss to raise the Earth. In kavaca-style mapping, each avatāra is assigned a sphere of protection; the ocean is Varāha’s emblematic locus.

What does ‘Sāmaveda-dhvaniḥ’ imply about Mādhava?

It links Viṣṇu’s auspiciousness to Vedic chant—especially the Sāma-veda’s melodic recitation used in ritual. The epithet suggests that protection is mediated through sacred sound (mantra/udgītha-like resonance), not merely through physical might.