Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 40

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

कुमारः शङ्करमगाद् विशाखो गौरिमागमत् कुटिलामगमच्छाखो महासेनो ऽग्निमभ्ययात्

Transliteration

kumāraḥ śaṅkaramagād viśākho gaurimāgamat kuṭilāmagamacchākho mahāseno 'gnimabhyayāt

Translation

കുമാരൻ ശങ്കരന്റെ അടുക്കൽ പോയി; വിശാഖൻ ഗൗരിയെ സമീപിച്ചു; ശാഖൻ കുടിലയിലേക്കു പോയി; മഹാസേനൻ അഗ്നിയിലേക്കു ചെന്നു।

Speakers

• Narrator voice (Purāṇic narrator) describing events to the listening sage (mune) within the chapter’s dialogue frame.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Shankara/Rudra)
• Parvati (Gauri/Uma)
• Agni

Key Themes

• Skanda’s multi-aspect manifestation
• Divine family (Śiva-Umā) context
• Agni’s role in Skanda cycle
• Distribution of emanations to deities/śaktis

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are multiple names (Kumāra, Viśākha, Mahāsena, Śākha) used in a single verse?

The passage presents Skanda as manifesting in multiple aspects/emanations, each moving toward a specific divine figure. This is a common Purāṇic technique to express a deity’s plenitude—one divinity appearing as many functional forms (commander, youth, specific ‘faces’ or powers).

Who is ‘Kuṭilā’ here—place or person?

In this verse Kuṭilā functions as a feminine figure (a goddess/attendant or śakti-name) receiving one emanated aspect (Śākha). It is not presented as a geographical toponym in the given line.

Does this verse contain tīrtha-geography typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

No. Despite the Vāmana Purāṇa’s strong geographical orientation elsewhere, this unit is mythic narrative and contains only divine personages, not named rivers or pilgrimage sites.