Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 73

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

गदाचक्राङ्कितकरौ गणासुरमहारथै अयुध्येतां तद ब्रह्मन् लघु चित्रं च सुष्ठु च

Transliteration

gadācakrāṅkitakarau gaṇāsuramahārathai ayudhyetāṃ tada brahman laghu citraṃ ca suṣṭhu ca

Translation

Ô Brāhmane, alors tous deux, les mains armées de la massue et du disque, combattirent les grands guerriers de char parmi les Gaṇas et les Asuras. Le combat fut rapide, prodigieux et âprement disputé.

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a Brāhmaṇa interlocutor (frame-speaker not specified in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Shiva (contextual—Gaṇas)
• Vishnu (implied by cakra symbolism, not explicit)

Key Themes

• Battle narrative (yuddha-varṇana)
• Gaṇa–Asura conflict
• Heroic combat aesthetics (citra, suṣṭhu)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are ‘the two’ described as having hands marked with mace and discus?

The verse uses a dual verb (ayudhyetām), indicating two principal fighters. The text does not name them here; it characterizes them by weapons/insignia (gadā, cakra). In Purāṇic battle style, such descriptors can denote either specific heroes or a paired combat episode within the larger Gaṇa–Asura war.

Does ‘cakra’ here necessarily mean Viṣṇu’s Sudarśana?

Not necessarily. ‘Cakra’ can be a generic discus-weapon in epic diction, though it strongly resonates with Vaiṣṇava iconography. Since the surrounding narrative is Gaṇa-centered (Śaiva milieu), the safest reading is ‘discus-weapon’ unless the chapter elsewhere explicitly identifies Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava avatāra.

Why does the narrator address ‘brahman’ in a battle description?

Purāṇas frequently retain a dialogic frame. ‘Brahman’ marks the listener (a Brāhmaṇa sage) and signals that the narration is being delivered within a teacher–disciple or sage–sage setting, even when the content shifts to martial episodes.