Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 118
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
तमाह शंभुर्व्रज दत्तमेतद् वरं हि चक्रस्य तवायुधास्य बाणस्य तद्बाहुबलं प्रवृद्धं संछेत्स्यते नात्र विचारणास्ति
tamāha śaṃbhurvraja dattametad varaṃ hi cakrasya tavāyudhāsya bāṇasya tadbāhubalaṃ pravṛddhaṃ saṃchetsyate nātra vicāraṇāsti
Sinabi ni Śambhu sa kanya: “Humayo ka—ipinagkaloob na ang biyayang ito hinggil sa iyong sandata, ang cakra. Ang lubhang lumakas na lakas ng mga bisig ni Bāṇa ay mapuputol; walang pag-aalinlangan dito.”
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
“Vraja” marks the transition from ascetic preparation to worldly action. In Purāṇic boon narratives, the deity’s command to depart signals that the tapas has matured into authorized agency—now the devotee must enact the divine will in the world.
It expresses the irrevocability of divine speech (satya-vāk). Once Śiva grants the boon, the outcome becomes a fixed point in the narrative cosmos—removing uncertainty and emphasizing the supremacy of the deity’s decree.
No; it specifies the cutting of “arm-strength” (bāhu-bala), i.e., the disabling of Bāṇa’s excessive martial capacity. This aligns with a common Purāṇic motif: restraining adharma by removing its instruments rather than necessarily annihilating the being outright.