Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 87
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
स पृष्ठतः प्रेक्ष्य शिकण्डिकेतनं समापतन्तं वरशक्तिपाणिनम् कैलासमुत्सृज्य हिमाचलं तथा क्रौञ्चं समभ्येत्व गुहं विवेश
sa pṛṣṭhataḥ prekṣya śikaṇḍiketanaṃ samāpatantaṃ varaśaktipāṇinam kailāsamutsṛjya himācalaṃ tathā krauñcaṃ samabhyetva guhaṃ viveśa
ಹಿಂದೆ ತಿರುಗಿ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ, ಮಯೂರ-ಕೇತುವನ್ನು ಧ್ವಜದಲ್ಲಿ ಧರಿಸಿದವನು, ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದು ತನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಧಾವಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕುಮಾರನನ್ನು ಅವನು ಕಂಡನು. ಕೈಲಾಸವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಹಿಮಾಚಲಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಕ್ರೌಂಚ ಪರ್ವತವನ್ನು ಸಮೀಪಿಸಿ ಒಂದು ಗುಹೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿದನು।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse uses a chain of well-known sacred mountains to ‘map’ the chase. This is characteristic of Purāṇic geography: narrative motion is anchored in recognizable topographic nodes, turning mythic pursuit into a sacral itinerary.
It is an identifying epithet of Skanda: his emblem/banner bears the peacock (śikhaṇḍin). Combined with ‘vara-śakti-pāṇin’, it unmistakably marks the pursuer as Kumāra in his martial iconography.
Yes. Krauñca-parvata appears across Skanda-related lore (including the well-known ‘Krauñca-bheda’ motif in wider tradition). Even when the specific episode differs, the mountain functions as a Skanda-associated landmark within the Purāṇic sacred landscape.