Vamana Purana — Slaying of Raktabija, Shloka 5

The Slaying of Raktabīja and Niśumbha–Śumbha; the Manifestation of the Mātṛkās and the Devas’ Hymn

Devanagari script

कण्ठादथ च कौमारी बर्हिपत्रा च शक्तिनी समुद्भूता च देवर्षे मयूरवरवाहना

Transliteration

kaṇṭhādatha ca kaumārī barhipatrā ca śaktinī samudbhūtā ca devarṣe mayūravaravāhanā

Translation

પછી, હે દેવર્ષિ, કણ્ઠમાંથી કૌમારી પ્રાદુર્ભૂત થઈ—શક્તિ (ભાલ) ધારણ કરનાર, મોરપાંખોથી અલંકૃત, અને શ્રેષ્ઠ મયૂરને વાહનરૂપે ધરાવનાર।

Speakers

• Narratorial voice addressing a devarṣi (explicitly ‘devarṣe’)
• within the Andhaka-vadha narration.

Primary Deities

• Skanda/Kumāra (Kārttikeya)
• Devī as Kaumārī

Key Themes

• Mātṛkā manifestation
• Martial śakti and divine weaponry
• Iconography (peacock, spear)
• Aid to the devas in battle

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is Kaumārī linked with the peacock and spear?

These are Skanda/Kārttikeya’s characteristic emblems: the peacock as his vāhana and the śakti (spear/lance) as his signature weapon. The verse encodes her identity through iconography.

What does ‘from the throat’ signify?

It indicates an emanational theology: the goddess-form arises from a specific locus of the deity’s body, symbolizing that the Mātṛkā is the deity’s own power externalized for cosmic action.

Who is the ‘devarṣi’ being addressed?

The text directly addresses a ‘divine seer’; in Purāṇic narrative conventions this commonly points to Nārada, though the exact framing speaker-listener pair can vary by recension.