Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 63

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

पिण्डारकस्तु तुण्डेन शृङ्गाभ्यां च कलिप्रिय विदारयति संग्रामे दानवान् समरोद्धतान्

Transliteration

piṇḍārakastu tuṇḍena śṛṅgābhyāṃ ca kalipriya vidārayati saṃgrāme dānavān samaroddhatān

Translation

Nhưng Piṇḍāraka, hỡi người được Kali yêu mến, đã dùng mỏ và đôi sừng mà xé toạc trong chiến trận các Dānava kiêu căng nơi chiến địa.

Word by Word

• पिण्डारकः: Piṇḍāraka (proper name)
• पिण्डारकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: contrast/emphasis)

• तुण्डेन: with the beak/snout
• तुण्डेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• शृङ्गाभ्याम्: with (his) two horns
• शृङ्गाभ्याम्: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कलि-प्रिय: O dear to Kali
• कलि-प्रिय: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कलेः प्रियः)

• विदारयति: tears/rends
• विदारयति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विदारय् (धातु, णिजन्त from √दॄ/√दर्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• संग्रामे: in battle
• संग्रामे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• दानवान्: Dānavas (demons)
• दानवान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• समर-उद्धतान्: arrogant in battle / battle-maddened
• समर-उद्धतान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर + उद्धत (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त from √उद्+हन्/√उद्+धृ? here 'उद्धत' from √उद्+हन्? standard: √उद्+हन् not; better: √उद्+हन् not; 'उद्धत' from √उद्+हन् is wrong; from √उद्+हन्?; accepted: √उद्+हन् not used; 'उद्धत' from √उद्+हन्?; सामान्यतः √उद्+हन् not; use √उद्+हन्?; instead treat as adjective stem उद्धत (प्रातिपदिक))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (दानवान्); तत्पुरुष-समासः (समरे उद्धताः)

Speakers

• Narrator addressing an interlocutor styled ‘kali-priya’ within the Andhaka-vadha battle narration

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Andhaka-vadha cycle
• Zoomorphic/teratomorphic warriors
• Asura lineages (Dānava)
• Moral coloring of enemies as ‘samaroddhata’ (war-arrogant)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the listener addressed as ‘kali-priya’?

‘Kali-priya’ functions as a vocative epithet for the addressee, a stylistic device common in Purāṇic narration. It can signal a frame where the teaching is relevant for the Kali age, or it may be an affectionate/identifying epithet of the interlocutor in the surrounding dialogue.

Does Piṇḍāraka’s beak and horns imply a specific species or deity-form?

The verse does not specify a deity-form; it portrays a combatant with animal-like features, consistent with Purāṇic battle scenes where yakṣas, bhūtas, gaṇas, and various extraordinary beings fight using non-human anatomies.

What is conveyed by calling the Dānavas ‘samaroddhata’?

It frames the opponents as inflated with martial pride and aggression, a moral-psychological characterization that justifies their violent downfall and heightens the hero’s prowess in overcoming formidable, overconfident enemies.