Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 87
Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha
स पृष्ठतः प्रेक्ष्य शिकण्डिकेतनं समापतन्तं वरशक्तिपाणिनम् कैलासमुत्सृज्य हिमाचलं तथा क्रौञ्चं समभ्येत्व गुहं विवेश
sa pṛṣṭhataḥ prekṣya śikaṇḍiketanaṃ samāpatantaṃ varaśaktipāṇinam kailāsamutsṛjya himācalaṃ tathā krauñcaṃ samabhyetva guhaṃ viveśa
اس نے پیچھے دیکھ کر مور-نشان علم والے، بہترین شکتی ہاتھ میں لیے، اپنی طرف جھپٹتے ہوئے کمار کو دیکھا۔ کیلاش کو چھوڑ کر وہ ہماچل پہنچا؛ اور کرونچ پہاڑ کے قریب جا کر ایک غار میں داخل ہو گیا۔
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FAQs
The verse uses a chain of well-known sacred mountains to ‘map’ the chase. This is characteristic of Purāṇic geography: narrative motion is anchored in recognizable topographic nodes, turning mythic pursuit into a sacral itinerary.
It is an identifying epithet of Skanda: his emblem/banner bears the peacock (śikhaṇḍin). Combined with ‘vara-śakti-pāṇin’, it unmistakably marks the pursuer as Kumāra in his martial iconography.
Yes. Krauñca-parvata appears across Skanda-related lore (including the well-known ‘Krauñca-bheda’ motif in wider tradition). Even when the specific episode differs, the mountain functions as a Skanda-associated landmark within the Purāṇic sacred landscape.