Vamana Purana — Battle at Mandara, Shloka 65

The Battle at Mandara: Vinayaka, Nandin, and Skanda Rout the Daitya Hosts

Devanagari script

पाशे निराशतां याते शम्बरः कातरेक्षणः दिशो ऽथ भेजे देवर्षे कुमारः सैन्यमर्दयत्

Transliteration

pāśe nirāśatāṃ yāte śambaraḥ kātarekṣaṇaḥ diśo 'tha bheje devarṣe kumāraḥ sainyamardayat

Translation

当绳索之缚（pāśa）归于无用时，商婆罗（Śambara）目光惶惧，便向四方逃遁，噢，天仙圣者；而库玛罗（Kumāra）则摧毁了军队。

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a devarṣi (divine sage) as listener

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Śaṅkara)
• Kumāra (Skanda/Kārttikeya)

Key Themes

• Asura’s rout after failed weapon
• Kumāra as destroyer of hostile forces
• Momentum shift in Andhaka-cycle battle

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is ‘Kumāra’ in this passage?

Kumāra is the standard Purāṇic epithet for Skanda/Kārttikeya, Śiva’s war-god son and commander of divine forces, frequently depicted as the one who ‘crushes the army’ (sainyam ardayat) in demon-battles.

What does ‘diśo bheje’ imply about Śambara’s retreat?

It indicates a panicked dispersal rather than a strategic withdrawal: he ‘takes to the directions,’ i.e., bolts away seeking any quarter for escape or concealment, a common idiom for rout after a key weapon fails.

Why is a ‘devarṣi’ addressed here?

Purāṇas often maintain a dialogic frame (sage-to-sage transmission). The vocative devarṣe signals the narrator is speaking to a divine sage listener (often Nārada or similar), anchoring the battle report within the text’s recitational setting.