Vamana Purana — Shukra's Curse on King Danda, Shloka 132

Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva

Devanagari script

पातालादपि दैत्येशं वीरं कन्दरमालिनम् स्वर्गाद् गन्धर्वराजानं पर्जन्यं शीघ्रमानय

Transliteration

pātālādapi daityeśaṃ vīraṃ kandaramālinam svargād gandharvarājānaṃ parjanyaṃ śīghramānaya

Translation

“Também de Pātāla, traz depressa o heróico senhor dos Daityas, Kandaramālin; e de Svarga traz rapidamente Parjanya, o rei dos Gandharvas.”

Speakers

• Commander voice continuing the instruction (contextually Ṛtadhvaja’s directive) to the messenger/agent

Primary Deities

• (none explicit; Parjanya named—elsewhere a deity-name; here specified as Gandharva-king)

Key Themes

• Three-realm connectivity (underworld/heaven)
• Asura and Gandharva polities
• Rapid summoning for ritual/political purpose
• Mythic geography as narrative infrastructure

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does it mean to ‘bring someone from Pātāla and Svarga’ in Purāṇic geography?

It reflects the Purāṇic model of a vertically structured cosmos where travel between realms is narratively possible through empowered agents. Mentioning Pātāla and Svarga is not merely poetic: it situates characters within a mapped cosmology of distinct, nameable regions.

Is Parjanya here the Vedic rain-god or a Gandharva king?

This verse explicitly qualifies Parjanya as ‘gandharvarājānaṃ’ (king of the Gandharvas). While the name overlaps with the Vedic deity Parjanya, the text’s epithet indicates a specific Gandharva sovereign in this narrative context.

What might the epithet/name ‘Kandaramālin’ suggest?

Etymologically, kandara refers to caves/ravines. The name ‘Kandaramālin’ can imply association with cavernous/mountainous terrain, fitting Purāṇic tendencies to encode geographic or habitat cues into epithets—especially for Daitya figures linked with subterranean or rugged locales.