Vamana Purana — Slaying of Raktabija, Shloka 43
The Slaying of Raktabīja and Niśumbha–Śumbha; the Manifestation of the Mātṛkās and the Devas’ Hymn
तमापतन्तं निस्त्रिंशं षड्भिर्बर्हिणराजितैः चिच्छेद चर्मणा सार्द्ध तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्
tamāpatantaṃ nistriṃśaṃ ṣaḍbhirbarhiṇarājitaiḥ ciccheda carmaṇā sārddha tadadbhutamivābhavat
[{"question": "Why does the hymn attribute different vehicles (swan and donkey) to the same Goddess?", "answer": "Purāṇic stuti often compresses multiple iconographic streams into one address: the Goddess is praised as a single supreme Śakti who manifests in diverse forms. The swan evokes a ‘Brahmā-associated’ or sāttvika, cosmic dimension, while the donkey is a common marker of fierce, protective, boundary-crossing village/śmaśāna-associated Devi forms. The point is theological unity across forms."}, {"question": "What does ‘jaganmayī’ imply in Śākta theology?", "answer": "‘Jaganmayī’ states immanence: the Goddess is not merely a deity within the world but the world’s very substance—names, forms, and powers arise within her. In Purāṇic idiom, it supports the claim that all divine functions (creation, protection, dissolution) are her modalities."}, {"question": "Is ‘Mālāvikaṭā’ a proper name or a descriptive epithet?", "answer": "In such hymns it functions as an epithet (nāma) indicating a recognizable Devi-form. Semantically it combines auspicious ornamentation (mālā) with a ‘terrible/awe-inspiring’ quality (vikaṭa), signaling the Goddess as both gracious and formidable."}]
{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The agent is Ambikā (Devī). The verse highlights her superhuman precision: she severs both the incoming sword and the accompanying shield, underscoring divine mastery over asuric aggression in the Andhaka-cycle battles.
Barhiṇa literally means ‘peacock.’ In martial description it commonly signals ornamentation or a shimmering, iridescent brilliance like peacock feathers—either on the sword fragments or on the weapon’s decorative fittings—intensifying the ‘adbhuta’ (marvel) effect.
Not directly. This is a yuddha-varṇana (battle description) segment within the Andhaka narrative; no sacred sites are named here, unlike the Purāṇa’s tīrtha-mahātmya passages.