Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 33

The Battle at Mandara: Vinayaka, Nandin, and Skanda Rout the Daitya Hosts

Devanagari script

काष्ठवत् स द्विधा भूतो निपपात धरातले तथापि नात्यजद् राहुर्बलवान् दानवेश्वरः स मोक्षार्थे ऽकरोद् यत्नं न शशाक च नारद

Transliteration

kāṣṭhavat sa dvidhā bhūto nipapāta dharātale tathāpi nātyajad rāhurbalavān dānaveśvaraḥ sa mokṣārthe 'karod yatnaṃ na śaśāka ca nārada

Translation

Ia terbelah dua dan jatuh ke tanah bagaikan sepotong kayu. Namun Rāhu, penguasa dānava yang perkasa, tidak menyerah; demi pembebasan (mokṣa) ia berusaha, tetapi, wahai Nārada, ia tidak mampu.

Speakers

• Narrator addressing Nārada (explicit vocative: ‘O Nārada’).

Key Themes

• Graphic battle outcome (dvidhā-bheda)
• Asuric endurance/tenacity
• Mokṣa as ‘release’ (contextual, not necessarily final liberation)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Does ‘mokṣārthe’ here mean spiritual liberation (final mokṣa) or immediate release?

In this immediate battle context it most naturally means ‘release’—escape from restraint, danger, or impending defeat. The Purāṇas often use mokṣa-language flexibly, and only broader surrounding passages can confirm a strictly soteriological sense.

How can Rāhu ‘not give up’ after being ‘split in two’?

This reflects a common Purāṇic asura motif: extraordinary vitality and persistence even after grievous injury, emphasizing the superhuman scale of the combatants and the difficulty of subduing them.

What is the narrative function of addressing Nārada directly?

The vocative ‘O Nārada’ anchors the episode within a dialogic transmission line (sage-to-sage narration), reinforcing authority and continuity of the account even when the immediate speaker is a narrator rather than a combatant.