Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 47
Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology
किं ते जितैर्नरैर्दैत्य अजिताननुशासय प्रहर्तुमिच्छसि यदि तं निवारय चान्तकम्
kiṃ te jitairnarairdaitya ajitānanuśāsaya prahartumicchasi yadi taṃ nivāraya cāntakam
“Wahai Daitya, apa gunanya bagimu manusia yang telah ditaklukkan? Tundukkanlah mereka yang belum terkalahkan. Jika sungguh ingin memukul, maka tahanlah Antaka (Maut) itu juga.”
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FAQs
It is a rhetorical impossibility meant to humble the aggressor: if he boasts of irresistible power, let him first overcome the universal limit—death. The line exposes the futility of violence as ultimate mastery.
In many Purāṇic contexts Antaka denotes Death/Yama as the ‘ender.’ While Śiva can be called Antaka in some traditions (as destroyer of death), the imperative ‘restrain Antaka’ fits best as ‘stop Death itself,’ i.e., Yama/death-personified.
He reframes ‘valor’ as ethical: attacking the already defeated is ignoble; true strength is self-restraint and confronting appropriate, worthy challenges—especially in a setting meant for yajña and order, not predation.