Vamana Purana — Andhaka's Coronation, Shloka 48

Andhaka’s Coronation, Boons from Shiva, and the Daiva–Asura War (Vahana Catalogues)

Devanagari script

अन्ये हयग्रीवमुखा महाबला दितेस्तनूजा दनुपुङ्गवाश्च सुरान् हुताशार्कवसूरकेश्वरान् द्वन्द्वं समासाद्य महाबलान्विताः

Transliteration

anye hayagrīvamukhā mahābalā ditestanūjā danupuṅgavāśca surān hutāśārkavasūrakeśvarān dvandvaṃ samāsādya mahābalānvitāḥ

Translation

इतर महाबली—दितीचे पुत्र, दानवांमध्ये वृषभासमान, हयग्रीवासारख्या मुखांचे—महाशक्तियुक्त होऊन देवांशी एकल युद्धासाठी आले आणि अग्नी, सूर्य, वसु-गण तसेच राक्षसाधिपती यांना द्वंद्वासाठी आव्हान दिले.

Word by Word

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• haya-grīva-mukhāḥ: horse-faced
• haya-grīva-mukhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रीव (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose faces are like a horse-neck/horse-headed’

• mahā-balāḥ: very strong
• mahā-balāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• diteḥ: of Diti
• diteḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• tanū-jāḥ: sons/offspring
• tanū-jāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनू (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• danu-puṅgavāḥ: bulls among the Dānavas (chief Dānavas)
• danu-puṅgavāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दनु (प्रातिपदिक) + पुंगव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• surān: the gods
• surān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• hutāśa-arka-vasu-raka-īśvarān: Agni, the Sun, the Vasus, and other lords (deities)
• hutāśa-arka-vasu-raka-īśvarān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हुताश (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक) + वसु (प्रातिपदिक) + रक (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (enumerative): Agni, Sun, Vasus, Raka(?), and the Lords (i.e., various deities)

• dvandvam: a duel/combat
• dvandvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वन्द्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samāsādya: having engaged/attacked
• samāsādya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund)

• mahā-bala-anvitāḥ: endowed with great strength
• mahā-bala-anvitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + बल (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (कृदन्त; √अनु+इ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; क्त (PPP) in sense ‘endowed with’

Speakers

• Narrative layer not explicit in input (commonly Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa framing)

Primary Deities

• Agni
• Sūrya
• Vasus

Key Themes

• Daitya-Deva Conflict
• Heroic combat (dvandva-yuddha)
• Cosmic order vs. anti-god forces

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse foregrounds the Purāṇic ethic of dharma defended through ordered resistance: even cosmic beings meet aggression with disciplined engagement (dvandva), suggesting that force is to be met within a rule-bound framework rather than as chaos.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily Vamśānucarita/Carita in the broad sense (narration of deeds of divine and anti-divine lineages—Devas and Daityas). It also supports the cosmological maintenance of order often embedded within Sarga/Pratisarga cycles, though the immediate content is martial narrative.

What is the symbolic significance?

Hayagrīva-like faces and 'bull-like' Dānavas intensify the imagery of untamed power confronting luminous cosmic functions (Agni, Sūrya, Vasus). The duel motif symbolizes dharma’s preference for structured contest over indiscriminate destruction.