Padma Purana — Srishti Khanda, Shloka 140
The Tārakāmaya War: Divine Mustering, Māyā Countermeasures, Aurva Fire, and Viṣṇu’s Slaying of Kālanemi
शीतांशुजालनिर्दग्धाः पाशैश्चास्कंदिता रणे । न शेकुश्चलितुं दैत्या विशिरस्का इवाद्रयः
śītāṃśujālanirdagdhāḥ pāśaiścāskaṃditā raṇe | na śekuścalituṃ daityā viśiraskā ivādrayaḥ
ਚੰਦਰ-ਕਿਰਣਾਂ ਦੇ ਜਾਲ ਨਾਲ ਝੁਲਸੇ ਅਤੇ ਪਾਸਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਰਣ ਵਿੱਚ ਜਕੜੇ ਹੋਏ, ਦੈਤ੍ਯ ਹਿਲ ਵੀ ਨਾ ਸਕੇ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਸਿਰ-ਵਿਹੂਣੇ ਪਹਾੜ।
Narrator (context not provided; speaker cannot be conclusively identified from the single verse alone)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: पाशैः+च→पाशैश्च; शेकुः+चलितुम्→शेकुश्चलितुम्; इव+अद्रयः→इवाद्रयः
FAQs
In Purāṇic literature, Daityas are a class of powerful beings often portrayed as opponents of the Devas; the term commonly denotes ‘demons’ or anti-god forces in mythic battles.
It emphasizes total immobility and helplessness: mountains are massive and unmoving, and ‘headless’ intensifies the sense of being struck down and rendered inert.
The verse underscores the theme that overwhelming power and arrogance can be neutralized instantly by superior (often divinely backed) restraint—symbolized by the net of rays and binding nooses.