Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 73

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

गदाचक्राङ्कितकरौ गणासुरमहारथै अयुध्येतां तद ब्रह्मन् लघु चित्रं च सुष्ठु च

Transliteration

gadācakrāṅkitakarau gaṇāsuramahārathai ayudhyetāṃ tada brahman laghu citraṃ ca suṣṭhu ca

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ഗദയും ചക്രവും ധരിച്ച കൈകളുള്ള ആ ഇരുവരും ഗണന്മാരുടെയും അസുരന്മാരുടെയും മഹാരഥന്മാരോടു യുദ്ധം ചെയ്തു. ഹേ ബ്രാഹ്മണാ, ആ സമരം അതിവേഗവും അത്ഭുതകരവും നന്നായി മത്സരപൂർണ്ണവുമായിരുന്നു.

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a Brāhmaṇa interlocutor (frame-speaker not specified in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Shiva (contextual—Gaṇas)
• Vishnu (implied by cakra symbolism, not explicit)

Key Themes

• Battle narrative (yuddha-varṇana)
• Gaṇa–Asura conflict
• Heroic combat aesthetics (citra, suṣṭhu)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are ‘the two’ described as having hands marked with mace and discus?

The verse uses a dual verb (ayudhyetām), indicating two principal fighters. The text does not name them here; it characterizes them by weapons/insignia (gadā, cakra). In Purāṇic battle style, such descriptors can denote either specific heroes or a paired combat episode within the larger Gaṇa–Asura war.

Does ‘cakra’ here necessarily mean Viṣṇu’s Sudarśana?

Not necessarily. ‘Cakra’ can be a generic discus-weapon in epic diction, though it strongly resonates with Vaiṣṇava iconography. Since the surrounding narrative is Gaṇa-centered (Śaiva milieu), the safest reading is ‘discus-weapon’ unless the chapter elsewhere explicitly identifies Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava avatāra.

Why does the narrator address ‘brahman’ in a battle description?

Purāṇas frequently retain a dialogic frame. ‘Brahman’ marks the listener (a Brāhmaṇa sage) and signals that the narration is being delivered within a teacher–disciple or sage–sage setting, even when the content shifts to martial episodes.