Vamana Purana — Vishnu Slays Kalanemi, Shloka 11

Vishnu Enters the Deva–Asura War and Slays Kalanemi

Devanagari script

रथैरन्ये गजैरन्ये वाजिभिश्चापरे ऽसुराः पदातयस्तथैवान्ये जग्मुर्युद्धाय दैवतैः

Transliteration

rathairanye gajairanye vājibhiścāpare 'surāḥ padātayastathaivānye jagmuryuddhāya daivataiḥ

Translation

อสูรบางพวกไปด้วยรถศึก บางพวกด้วยช้าง และบางพวกด้วยม้า; อีกพวกหนึ่งเป็นทหารราบ ต่างยกทัพไปทำศึกกับเหล่าเทวะ.

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher figure describing the Asura host to a Brahmin interlocutor

Primary Deities

• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Military organization (catur-aṅga/battle array motifs)
• Escalation to open war
• Collective mobilization of Asuras vs Devas

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does the listing of chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry signify?

It signals a fully mobilized classical army (a standard Purāṇic/epic trope), emphasizing scale and readiness. The verse functions as a narrative ‘battle tableau’ before engagement.

Does ‘daivataiḥ’ mean the Asuras fought alongside the Devas?

In isolation it can mean ‘with the Devas,’ but in war narration it commonly denotes the opposing party (‘to battle with/against the Devas’). The surrounding verses about grievance and mobilization make the adversarial sense the natural reading.

Is any specific battlefield or kṣetra implied here?

Not in this excerpt. Vāmana Purāṇa often anchors narratives in sacred geography elsewhere, but these lines are purely martial description without place-names.