Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 89
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
दैत्यं प्रविष्टं स पिनाकिसूनुर्जुगोप यत्नाद् भगवान् सुहो ऽपि स्वबन्धुहन्ता भविता कथं त्वहं संचिन्तयन्नेव ततः स्थितो ऽभूत् // वम्प्_32.88 ततो ऽभ्यगात् पुष्करसंभवस्तु हरो मुरारिस्त्रिदसेश्वरश्च अभ्येत्य चोचुर्महिषं सशैलं भिन्दस्व शक्त्या कुरु देवकार्यम्
daityaṃ praviṣṭaṃ sa pinākisūnurjugopa yatnād bhagavān suho 'pi svabandhuhantā bhavitā kathaṃ tvahaṃ saṃcintayanneva tataḥ sthito 'bhūt // VamP_32.88 tato 'bhyagāt puṣkarasaṃbhavastu haro murāristridaseśvaraśca abhyetya cocurmahiṣaṃ saśailaṃ bhindasva śaktyā kuru devakāryam
दैत्याने प्रवेश केला तेव्हा पिनाकधारीचा पुत्र स्कंद, स्वतः वीर व भगवद्भावयुक्त असूनही, “मी आपल्या स्वजनांचा वध कसा करू?” असा विचार करून प्रयत्नपूर्वक आपले पराक्रम आवरून चिंतनात स्थिर राहिला. मग कमलज ब्रह्मा, हर (शिव), मुरारी (विष्णु) आणि देवांचा अधिपती इंद्र आले व म्हणाले—“तुझ्या शक्तीच्या तेजाने पर्वतासह या महिषासुराला विदीर्ण कर; देवकार्य सिद्ध कर।”
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FAQs
The verse frames a dharma-conflict: the enemy is also ‘svabandhu’ (kin). In Purāṇic ethics, even righteous violence can be morally weighty when it entails killing relatives; Skanda pauses to consider the implications before accepting a divine mandate.
Their joint approach functions as a narrative seal of legitimacy: the act is not personal vengeance but ‘deva-kārya’—a cosmic duty endorsed by the highest divine authorities, emphasizing inter-deity concord in restoring order.
The text uses ‘mahiṣa’ as a demon-identifier (buffalo-form asura). Without additional surrounding verses, it is safest to read it as a buffalo-demon within this chapter’s Andhaka/daitya cycle rather than automatically equating it with the Devī-myth’s Mahīṣāsura; Purāṇas often reuse such demon-forms across different episodes.