Vamana Purana — Skanda Slays Taraka & Mahisha, Shloka 74

Skanda’s Svastyayana and the Slaying of Taraka and Mahisha

Devanagari script

गदां मुमोच महिषः समाविध्य गणाय तु सुचक्राक्षो निजं चक्रमुत्ससर्जासुरं प्रति

Transliteration

gadāṃ mumoca mahiṣaḥ samāvidhya gaṇāya tu sucakrākṣo nijaṃ cakramutsasarjāsuraṃ prati

Translation

Mahiṣa phóng chùy (gadā) của mình, đánh trúng một Gaṇa. Rồi Sucakrākṣa—kẻ có thị kiến như bánh xe sáng—ném chính đĩa (cakra) của mình về phía A-tu-la.

Speakers

• Narrative voice continuing the battle account to the addressed Brāhmaṇa.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (contextual—Gaṇas)
• Vishnu (iconographic resonance via cakra, not explicit)

Key Themes

• Weapon exchange (gadā vs cakra)
• Asura typology (Mahiṣa)
• Gaṇa participation in cosmic battles

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is this Mahiṣa the same as the famous Mahiṣāsura slain by Durgā?

The name ‘Mahiṣa’ can function as a proper name for a buffalo-asura across traditions. Without additional identifiers (genealogy, locale, goddess encounter), it is methodologically safer to treat this as a Mahiṣa-asura within the Andhaka-vadha battle cycle rather than automatically equating it with the Devī-māhātmya figure.

What does ‘samāvidhya’ contribute to the scene?

It signals a clean, effective hit—an intensifier that the mace-throw was not merely attempted but successfully landed on a Gaṇa, raising the stakes and justifying the immediate counter with the discus.

Who is ‘Su-cakrākṣa’?

In this excerpt it is an epithet for the opposing combatant who wields a discus. The chapter may elsewhere name him; here the text foregrounds martial capability (cakra-weapon mastery) rather than personal identity.