Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 58

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

जिघ्रती कार्त्तिकेयस्य अभिषेकार्द्रमाननम् भात्यद्रिजा यथेन्द्रस्य देवमातादितिः पुरा

Transliteration

jighratī kārttikeyasya abhiṣekārdramānanam bhātyadrijā yathendrasya devamātāditiḥ purā

Translation

ಅಭಿಷೇಕಸ್ನಾನದಿಂದ ತೇವಗೊಂಡ ಕಾರ್ತ್ತಿಕೇಯನ ಮುಖವನ್ನು ಘ್ರಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅದ್ರಿಜಾ (ಪಾರ್ವತಿ) ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸಿದಳು; ಪುರಾತನಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ದೇವಮಾತೆ ಅದಿತಿ ಇಂದ್ರನನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸಿದಂತೆ।

Word by Word

• jighratī: smelling
• jighratī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ghrā (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ/शतृँ), Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ‘smelling’

• kārttikeyasya: of Kārttikeya
• kārttikeyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārttikeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• abhiṣeka-ārdram: wet from the consecration
• abhiṣeka-ārdram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhiṣeka + ārdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘abhiṣekena ārdram’ qualifying ‘ānanam’

• ānanam: face
• ānanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• bhāti: shines/appears beautiful
• bhāti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhā (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; parasmaipada

• adrijā: the mountain-born (Pārvatī)
• adrijā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adri + jā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘adreḥ jā’ = ‘born of the mountain’

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative indeclinable (उपमानवाचक अव्यय)

• indrasya: of Indra
• indrasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• devamātā: mother of the gods
• devamātā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘devānāṃ mātā’

• aditiḥ: Aditi
• aditiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aditi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• purā: formerly/once
• purā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing events to the listening sage(s) (contextual frame not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Kārttikeya (Skanda/Guhā)
• Pārvatī (Adrijā)
• Aditi
• Indra

Key Themes

• Abhiṣeka (ritual consecration)
• Maternal affection and auspiciousness
• Mythic analogy (Aditi–Indra parallel)
• Legitimation of divine office through ritual

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shringara", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why does the verse compare Pārvatī to Aditi and Kārttikeya to Indra?

The comparison elevates Kārttikeya’s consecration by aligning it with the archetypal Vedic model of divine sovereignty: Indra as paradigmatic king of the gods, and Aditi as the luminous, auspicious divine mother. It frames Skanda’s new status as similarly legitimate and world-ordering.

What is the significance of ‘abhiṣekārdram ānanam’ (a face moist from abhiṣeka)?

It highlights immediacy: the consecration has just occurred, and the ritual water is still present. In Purāṇic poetics, such details intensify auspiciousness (maṅgala) and mark the transition into office as freshly conferred.

Is ‘smelling the face’ a ritual act or a poetic gesture?

Primarily a maternal gesture of affection and recognition, but it also functions as a sign of acceptance and blessing immediately after a rite of elevation—an embodied confirmation of the consecrated status.