Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 116
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
सुचक्रनेत्रो ऽपि महाश्रमे तपश्चचार शैले पवनाशनस्तु आराधयानो वृषभध्वजं तदा हरो ऽस्य तुष्टो वरदो बभूव
sucakranetro 'pi mahāśrame tapaścacāra śaile pavanāśanastu ārādhayāno vṛṣabhadhvajaṃ tadā haro 'sya tuṣṭo varado babhūva
大いなる庵に住むスチャクラネートラ（Sucakranetra）でさえ、山上にてタパス（苦行）を修し、ただ風のみを糧としていた。かくして牛旗の主（Vṛṣabhadhvaja）を礼拝していると、ハラ（Hara）は彼を嘉し、願いを授ける者となった。
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FAQs
The verse presents Sucakranetra as an exemplar of intense ascetic practice—so intense that he is described as pavanāśana (living on air). In Purāṇic narrative technique, such a description signals that the character is about to receive divine empowerment (vara) necessary for a major mythic confrontation.
“Vṛṣabhadhvaja” (bull-bannered) evokes Śiva’s iconography and his sovereign, martial-protective aspect. In boon narratives, this epithet underscores that the boon is not merely spiritual but can be weapon-linked and conflict-relevant.
No named tīrtha is specified; only generic sacred settings appear: a “great hermitage” and a “mountain.” In the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography-forward style, such generic markers often precede later verses that anchor the episode to a specific region or pilgrimage site.