Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

संमोहितं भ्रातृसुतं विदित्वा बली कुजम्भो मुसलं प्रगृह्य संभ्रामयंस्तूर्णतरं स वेगात् ससर्ज नन्दिं प्रति जातकोपः

Transliteration

saṃmohitaṃ bhrātṛsutaṃ viditvā balī kujambho musalaṃ pragṛhya saṃbhrāmayaṃstūrṇataraṃ sa vegāt sasarja nandiṃ prati jātakopaḥ

Translation

Mengetahui keponakannya telah dibuat bingung, Kujambha yang kuat meraih sebuah gada; sambil memutarnya lebih cepat dan diliputi amarah, ia melemparkannya dengan dahsyat ke arah Nandī.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic recitation voice) describing events to the listening sage(s) (exact interlocutors not specified in the supplied excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Shiva (implied)
• Nandī

Key Themes

• Gaṇa warfare in the Andhaka cycle
• Krodha (wrath) as a battle-motive
• Heroic combat (vīra-rasa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Kujambha in this context, and why is he attacking Nandī?

Kujambha is presented as a powerful figure aligned with the opposing (Asuric) side in the Andhaka-vadha war-cycle. The verse frames his attack as arising from anger upon noticing his nephew’s ‘saṃmoha’ (bewilderment), implying that Nandī’s side has caused disarray among his kin or troops.

What does ‘saṃmohitaṃ’ suggest in Purāṇic battle scenes?

Saṃmoha often indicates a loss of clarity due to fear, divine power, illusion (māyā), or shock in combat. It can also hint at a supernatural turning of the battle—where a champion’s presence (here, Nandī) destabilizes the enemy’s resolve.

Is there any tīrtha or geographic marker embedded here, as is common in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not in this śloka. While the Vāmana Purāṇa frequently embeds geography, this segment is a pure yuddha-varṇana unit; any geographic anchoring would have to be taken from surrounding verses/chapters, not from 42.43 itself.