Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 108
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
इत्येवमुक्तः क्रौञ्चस्तु प्राह पूर्वं महामतिः चकार गोत्रभित् पश्चात्त्वाया कृतमथो गुह
ityevamuktaḥ krauñcastu prāha pūrvaṃ mahāmatiḥ cakāra gotrabhit paścāttvāyā kṛtamatho guha
یوں مخاطب کیے جانے پر کرونچ بولا— “پہلے ‘گوتربھِد’ اندر نے یہ کیا؛ پھر، اے گُہ (سکند)، تم نے کیا۔”
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FAQs
Gotrabhit is a well-known epithet of Indra, recalling his mythic act of ‘splitting’ mountains/caves to release waters (a Vedic-Purāṇic motif). By naming Indra as the first performer, the text anchors the rite in an ancient, cosmic order where Indra’s acts shape and sanctify terrain.
Guha (‘hidden, dwelling in caves’) is a common epithet of Skanda, resonant with mountainous settings and sacred groves/caves. In a geography-centered Purāṇa, such naming strengthens Skanda’s identity as a deity intimately tied to specific terrains and their ritual circuits.
It provides an origin-sequence: first Indra, then Skanda. This establishes a prestigious pedigree for the site’s pradakṣiṇā, implying that pilgrims who follow the same circuit participate in a rite inaugurated by major deities and preserved by the landscape itself.