Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Coronation, Shloka 36

Andhaka’s Coronation, Boons from Shiva, and the Daiva–Asura War (Vahana Catalogues)

Devanagari script

शोणितोदा रथावर्त्ता योधसंघट्टवाहिनी गजकुम्भमाहकूर्मा शरमीना दुरत्यया

Transliteration

śoṇitodā rathāvarttā yodhasaṃghaṭṭavāhinī gajakumbhamāhakūrmā śaramīnā duratyayā

Translation

ಆ ನದಿಯ ನೀರು ರಕ್ತವಾಗಿತ್ತು; ಅದರ ಸುಳಿಗಳು ರಥಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವು; ಅದರ ಪ್ರವಾಹ ಯೋಧಸಮೂಹಗಳ ಘರ್ಷಣೆಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆನೆಗಳ ಕುಂಭಗಳು ಅದರ ಮಹಾಕೂರ್ಮಗಳು; ಬಾಣಗಳು ಅದರ ಮೀನುಗಳು—ಅದು ದಾಟಲು ದುಸ್ತರ.

Word by Word

• शोणित-उदा: having blood as water
• शोणित-उदा: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोणित (प्रातिपदिक) + उद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शोणितम् उदकं यस्याः/यत्र); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-विशेषण

• रथ-आवर्त्ता: with chariots as whirlpools
• रथ-आवर्त्ता: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक) + आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘with chariots as whirlpools’

• योध-संघट्ट-वाहिनी: carrying the collisions of warriors (as its current)
• योध-संघट्ट-वाहिनी: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: योध (प्रातिपदिक) + संघट्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-विशेषण

• गज-कुम्भ-माह-कूर्मा: with elephant temples as huge turtles
• गज-कुम्भ-माह-कूर्मा: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक) + कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + माह (प्रातिपदिक) + कूर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-विशेषण; ‘with elephant-temples as great turtles’ (माह=महान् इत्यर्थे)

• शर-मीना: with arrows as fish
• शर-मीना: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक) + मीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-विशेषण

• दुरत्यया: hard to cross
• दुरत्यया: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग) + अति-इ (धातु) + खल्/यत् (प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (दुरत्यय ‘hard to cross’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-विशेषण

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (typical frame; not explicitly stated in input)

Key Themes

• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Poetic battle description
• Alankāra (extended metaphor)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By aestheticizing violence into a ‘river,’ the text simultaneously conveys grandeur and horror; it cautions that warfare creates a self-sustaining current of harm that becomes ‘uncrossable’ once unleashed.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

It is episodic narrative material aligned with Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-associated Deva–Asura struggles (a common Purāṇic narrative layer), not cosmological sarga/pratisarga.

What is the symbolic significance?

The ‘river of blood’ is a dharmic inversion of sacred rivers: instead of purifying, it embodies adharma’s consequences; martial objects become aquatic life, suggesting violence naturalized into an ecosystem.