Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 66
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
हंसास्यः पट्टिशेनाथ जघान महिषासुरम् षोटशाक्षस्त्रिशूलेन शतशीर्षो वरासिना
haṃsāsyaḥ paṭṭiśenātha jaghāna mahiṣāsuram ṣoṭaśākṣastriśūlena śataśīrṣo varāsinā
Alors Haṃsāsya abattit le démon Mahiṣa au moyen d’un paṭṭiśa (hache de guerre). Ṣoṭaśākṣa tua un autre adversaire avec un triśūla (trident), et Śataśīrṣa avec une épée d’excellence.
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FAQs
Purāṇic battle narration often shifts from mass combat to named champions to dramatize victory and to preserve traditional lists of Śiva’s attendants, each marked by distinctive epithets (faces, eyes, heads) and signature weapons.
The triśūla is a primary Śaiva emblem, representing Śiva’s sovereign power in battle and, in later theological readings, mastery over triads (e.g., creation–maintenance–dissolution or the three guṇas). In narrative terms it signals unmistakably Śaiva agency.
Not necessarily. The epithet ‘Mahiṣa-asura’ can denote a demon named Mahiṣa or a ‘buffalo-demon’ type. Some Purāṇic traditions reuse famous demon-names across cycles; identification depends on surrounding narrative markers, which are not present in this isolated verse.