Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 60

The Battle at Mandara: Vinayaka, Nandin, and Skanda Rout the Daitya Hosts

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा बलिनां श्रेष्ठः पाशपाणिरयःशिराः संयोधयामास बली विशाखं कुक्कुटध्वजम्

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā balināṃ śreṣṭhaḥ pāśapāṇirayaḥśirāḥ saṃyodhayāmāsa balī viśākhaṃ kukkuṭadhvajam

Translation

Ao vê-lo, Ayaḥśiras—o melhor entre as forças de Bali (asura), com o laço (pāśa) na mão—travou combate com Viśākha, cujo estandarte trazia o emblema de um galo.

Speakers

• Narrator (Sūta/Itihāsa-style narration) describing the battle to the listening sages (frame not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Śiva
• Skanda/Kārttikeya

Key Themes

• Andhaka-vadha cycle
• Deva–Asura conflict
• Martial iconography (dhvaja/emblems)
• Skanda’s retinue and warfare motifs

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Viśākha here, and why is he marked by a ‘cock-banner’ (kukkuṭa-dhvaja)?

In Purāṇic battle catalogues, Viśākha often appears among Skanda/Kārttikeya’s associates or commanders. The ‘cock’ emblem is strongly linked with Skanda’s martial symbolism (also seen in the broader Skanda/Kumāra tradition), so ‘kukkuṭa-dhvaja’ functions as an identifying epithet within the battlefield narrative.

What does ‘pāśa’ signify as a weapon in Purāṇic warfare?

A pāśa is a noose/lasso weapon used to bind, restrain, or drag an opponent—iconographically prominent for certain deities and also adopted by asura champions in epic-Purāṇic combat descriptions.

Does this verse contribute to the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographical agenda?

Not directly. This is a yuddha-varṇana unit within the Andhaka-vadha material; unlike tīrtha-māhātmya passages, it contains no explicit toponyms or sacred hydrography.