Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

विनायकस्य तत्कुम्भे परिघं वज्रभूषणम् शतधा त्वगमद् ब्रह्मन् मेरोः कूट इवाशनिः

Transliteration

vināyakasya tatkumbhe parighaṃ vajrabhūṣaṇam śatadhā tvagamad brahman meroḥ kūṭa ivāśaniḥ

Translation

అప్పుడు వినాయకుని ఆ కుంభంపై వజ్రసమ కఠినమైన పరిఘము, ఓ బ్రాహ్మణా, మేరుపర్వత శిఖరంపై పిడుగు పడినట్లుగా శతఖండాలై చీలిపోయింది।

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a Brāhmaṇa listener within the frame narrative (exact identity not given in the excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Gaṇeśa (Vināyaka)

Key Themes

• Divine invulnerability
• Cosmic simile (Meru and lightning)
• Poetics of Purāṇic warfare
• Śaiva divine host supremacy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the force of the Meru simile here?

Meru functions as the cosmic axis and emblem of immovability; comparing the shattering blow to lightning on Meru’s peak underscores that the weapon breaks, not the divine body—Gaṇeśa is portrayed as unshaken like Meru.

How should ‘vajrabhūṣaṇam’ be understood?

It can mean ‘vajra-like’ (adamantine/hard) or ‘reinforced/adorned with vajra-like fittings’ (metal studs/plates). Either way, the verse stresses that even a thunderbolt-hard weapon cannot harm Vināyaka.

Does mentioning Meru count as sacred geography in the Vāmana Purāṇa sense?

Yes, but it is cosmic geography rather than terrestrial tīrtha-topography. Meru is a mythic landmark used to anchor the narrative in Purāṇic cosmological imagination, unlike the text’s many river- and tīrtha-based descriptions elsewhere.