Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 64
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
ततस्तत्सैन्यमतुलं वध्यमानं गणेश्वरैः प्रदुद्रावाथ महिषस्तारकश्च गणाग्रणीः
tatastatsainyamatulaṃ vadhyamānaṃ gaṇeśvaraiḥ pradudrāvātha mahiṣastārakaśca gaṇāgraṇīḥ
പിന്നീട് ഗണേശ്വരന്മാർ വധിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരുന്ന ആ അതുലസൈന്യം തകർന്നു ഓടി; അപ്പോൾ ഗണാഗ്രണികളായ മഹിഷനും താരകനും കൂടി പലയനം ചെയ്തു।
{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
They are the commanders/lords among Śiva’s gaṇas (attendant hosts). In battle passages, the term emphasizes organized divine militias under Śiva’s sovereignty rather than the single deity Gaṇeśa alone.
The names overlap with well-known demon figures (e.g., Tāraka of Skanda traditions; Mahiṣa of Devī traditions). In Purāṇic battle cycles, such names can function as recurring archetypal opponents or as distinct individuals sharing the same appellations, depending on the recension and narrative layer.
It marks a turning point: the opposing host loses cohesion under gaṇa assault, setting up subsequent single-combat episodes where named champions are slain by specific gaṇa leaders (as in the next verses).