Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 117
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
देवात् स वव्रे वरमायुधार्थे चक्रं तथा वै रिपुबाहुषण्डम् छिन्द्याद्यथा त्वप्रतिमं करेण बाणस्य तन्मे भगवान् ददातु
devāt sa vavre varamāyudhārthe cakraṃ tathā vai ripubāhuṣaṇḍam chindyādyathā tvapratimaṃ kareṇa bāṇasya tanme bhagavān dadātu
देवात् स आयुधार्थं वरं वव्रे—चक्रं, येन त्वया अप्रतिमेन करेण बाणस्य रिपुबाहुषण्डं छिद्येत; तत् मे भगवान् ददातु।
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FAQs
Purāṇic literature frequently allows weapon-forms to circulate across deities as manifestations of divine power rather than exclusive property. Here, the cakra functions as a paradigmatic severing weapon suited to the narrative need (cutting many arms), while still remaining compatible with Śiva’s role as supreme boon-giver in this episode.
Bāṇa is a famed asura/king in Purāṇic myth, often described as possessing numerous arms—symbolizing overwhelming martial capacity and hubris. The requested boon targets precisely that excess power: severing the arms is a narrative way of curbing adharma without annihilating the cosmic order outright.
The phrase elevates Śiva’s agency: the weapon’s efficacy is grounded in the deity’s unmatched power. It also frames the boon as a delegated extension of Śiva’s own capacity—legitimizing the act of subduing Bāṇa as divinely sanctioned.