Vamana Purana — Shukra's Samjivani, Shloka 54

Shukra’s Saṃjīvanī, Shiva’s Containment of the Asuras, and Indra’s Recovery of Power

Devanagari script

विवस्वन्तं रणे शाल्वो वरुणं त्रिशिरास्तथा द्विमूर्धा पवनं सोमं राहुर्मित्रं विरूपधृक्

Transliteration

vivasvantaṃ raṇe śālvo varuṇaṃ triśirāstathā dvimūrdhā pavanaṃ somaṃ rāhurmitraṃ virūpadhṛk

Translation

In battle, Śālva fought Vivasvān (the Sun); Triśiras fought Varuṇa; Dvimūrdhā fought Pavana (the Wind); Rāhu fought Soma (the Moon); and Virūpadhṛk fought Mitra.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic sūta/ṛṣi voice) continuing the battle pairings (exact interlocutors not specified in input).

Primary Deities

• Vivasvān (Sūrya)
• Varuṇa
• Pavana (Vāyu)
• Soma (Candra)
• Mitra

Key Themes

• Cosmic forces personified as deities
• Eclipse mythology (Rāhu vs Soma)
• Deva–Asura antagonism
• Purāṇic battle catalog

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Sun, Moon, Wind, and Varuṇa shown as battlefield participants?

Purāṇas often personify cosmic functions as deities who can act in mythic history. The battle dramatizes a cosmic crisis: Asuras challenge not only heaven but the very regulators of time (Sun/Moon), breath and motion (Wind), and moral-cosmic order (Varuṇa, Mitra).

What is the significance of Rāhu fighting Soma specifically?

Rāhu is classically linked to eclipses—periodic ‘seizing’ of the luminaries. Pairing Rāhu with Soma (Moon) echoes that mythic function, embedding astronomical phenomena into the narrative of Deva–Asura conflict.

Are Triśiras and Dvimūrdhā descriptive epithets or fixed names?

They function as proper identifiers in battle lists. Their meanings (‘three-headed’, ‘two-headed’) also signal the monstrous/extraordinary nature of Asura bodies, a common Purāṇic motif to mark otherness and power.