Shloka 931
सहानुजं जघानाशोु वृत्रं देवपतिर्यथा । कुमारके पार्षदोंने युद्धमें आक्रमण करके उन सब दैत्योंको मार गिराया। साथ ही भगवान् कार्तिकेयने कुपित होकर वृत्रासुरको मारनेवाले देवराज इन्द्रके समान दैत्यराजके उस पुत्रको उसके छोटे भाईसहित शीघ्र ही मार डाला ।। बिभेद क्रौज्चं शकक्त्या च पावकि: परवीरहा
sahānujam jaghānāśu vṛtraṃ devapatir yathā | kumārake pārṣadone yuddhe ākramaṇaṃ kṛtvā tān sarvān daityān mārayām āsa | saha bhagavān kārtikeyo 'pi kupitaḥ vṛtrāsuraṃ mārayitā devarāja indra iva daityarājasya tasya putraṃ tasya laghunā bhrātrā saha śīghraṃ jaghāna || bibheda krauñcaṃ śaktyā ca pāvakiḥ paravīrahā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Like Indra, lord of the gods, who swiftly slew Vṛtra, the divine Kumāra (Kārttikeya), after charging into battle with his attendants, struck down those Dānavas. In wrath he quickly killed the Daitya-king’s son together with his younger brother, matching Indra’s famed deed of slaying Vṛtrāsura. Then Pāvaki, the slayer of enemy-heroes, also pierced Kraunca with his spear.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames battlefield killing within the epic’s heroic-ethical lens: decisive action against violent adversaries is praised when aligned with a warrior’s duty (kṣatriya-dharma), and the comparison to Indra’s slaying of Vṛtra elevates the act as a paradigmatic victory over a threatening force.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Kumāra (Kārttikeya), supported by his attendants, charges into battle and swiftly kills Daitya warriors, including a Daitya-king’s son along with his younger brother, likened to Indra’s swift slaying of Vṛtra; additionally, Pāvaki pierces a foe named Krauñca with a spear.