Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 92
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
गां ब्राह्मणं वृद्धमथाप्तवाक्यं बालं स्वबन्धुं ललनामदुष्टाम् कृतापराधा अपि नैव वध्या आचार्यमुख्या गुरवस्तथैव
gāṃ brāhmaṇaṃ vṛddhamathāptavākyaṃ bālaṃ svabandhuṃ lalanāmaduṣṭām kṛtāparādhā api naiva vadhyā ācāryamukhyā guravastathaiva
โค พราหมณ์ ผู้ชรา ผู้มีวาจาน่าเชื่อถือ เด็กเล็ก ญาติของตน และสตรีผู้ปราศจากมลทิน—บุคคลเหล่านี้แม้ทำผิดก็ไม่พึงฆ่า เช่นเดียวกัน อาจารย์ผู้เป็นใหญ่และครูบาอาจารย์ของตนก็ไม่พึงประหาร
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FAQs
The verse reflects a dharma-śāstra style hierarchy of protected beings: those who sustain society (cow), uphold sacred knowledge (brāhmaṇa, āpta), embody vulnerability (child, blameless woman), or represent one’s moral roots (kinsman, guru/ācārya). The intent is to restrict violent retribution and require alternative expiation or restraint rather than execution.
No. ‘Āpta’ is a moral-epistemic category: a person whose testimony is reliable because of integrity and knowledge. The verse treats such a person as specially protected, emphasizing the social value of truthful counsel.
In episodes where Indra must kill a daitya (e.g., Namuci), the text often frames the act within dharmic constraints—first listing who must not be harmed, then justifying exceptional violence only when it protects many or preserves cosmic order.