Skandapurana 1.3.28

English (machine translation) 1.3.28

Language: English

1.3.28.1

Lomaśa said: / As Tārakāsura came bounding along in his might, / Indra, best among the wise, struck him with his thunderbolt.

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Overwhelmed by that blow of the thunderbolt, Tāraka, / though fallen, rose up and struck his elephant with a spear.

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He caused Puraṃdara, mounted on his elephant, to fall to the earth; / and when Puraṃdara fell, there was a great cry of woe.

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Hear also what was done right there by Tāraka, O lord! / Stepping with his foot upon the fallen one and seizing the thunderbolt from his hand,

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seeing Deveṃdra struck down, Tāraka, the slayer of foes, / struck Puraṃdara with a mighty blow of the thunderbolt.

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Raising his trident, the exceedingly mighty Vīrabhadra then, enraged, / protecting Puraṃdara, struck the Daitya Tāraka with the trident of great splendour.

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Struck by the blow of the trident, he fell onto the surface of the earth; / yet though fallen, Tāraka of great splendour rose up again.

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With an excellent spear he struck Vīrabhadra in the chest; / and Vīrabhadra also fell from the blow of his spear.

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Then the gods with their gaṇas, and the Gandharvas, serpents, and Rākṣasas, / wailed repeatedly with a great cry of woe.

Then the exceedingly mighty Vīrabhadra, slayer of foes, suddenly rose up, / raising his trident that resembled a flash of lightning, continuously blazing with splendour, / illuminating the expanse of the directions with its radiance, resembling the sun’s disc, fire, and the multitude of stars.

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Then, as the exceedingly mighty one wished to kill him with his trident, / he was restrained by Kumāra: “Do not kill him, O great-minded one!”

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And Kārttikeya of great splendour and immense strength roared.

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Then, addressed with cries of “Victory!” by the beings stationed in the sky, / the heroic one prepared to slay Tāraka with his supreme spear.

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Then an unbearable combat took place between Tāraka and Kumāra, / exceedingly dreadful and striking terror into all beings.

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With spears in hand, the two heroes fought each other; / with their spears their hands were wounded, yet they were endowed with great daring.

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Eluding each other like two exceedingly strong lions, / resorting to the Vaitālikī posture and likewise the movement in the air,

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and resorting to the mountainous style of combat, they struck spear against spear; / adopting these tactics, the two great heroes waged an excellent fight.

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Matching one another, possessed of great strength and valour, / skilled in warfare, they struck with the blades of their spears in the battle.

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On the head, on the throat, on the arms, on the knees, and on the hips, / on the chest, on the breast, and on the back, they cut one another.

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Then, as those two of mighty strength were fighting and seeking to kill [each other], / all the gods, gandharvas, and guhyakas became spectators.

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They all said to one another, “Who will be victorious in this battle?” / Then a voice situated in the sky spoke, reassuring them indeed:

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“O gods, today this Kumāra will surely slay Tāraka. / Let no gods grieve; let everyone abide happily in heaven.”

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Then, having heard that voice uttered in the sky at that very moment, surrounded by the pramathas, / the young boy, desiring to slay him, turned toward that ruler of daityas, Tāraka of terrifying form.

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The mighty-armed Kumāra, the more powerful one, struck with that spear / Tāraka, the foremost of the asuras, in the chest.

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Disregarding that blow, Tāraka, the bull among daityas, / became enraged and struck Kumāra indeed with his own spear.

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By that blow of the spear, the son of Śaṃkara swooned; / after a moment, being praised by the great ṛṣis, he regained consciousness.

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Just like a lion intoxicated with rut wishing to kill, even so / the glorious Kumāra struck the daitya Tāraka.

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In this way, Kumāra and Tāraka / fought each other with great fury, devoted to the spear duel.

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Devoted to their practice, they stood wishing to conquer each other; / thus the two of wondrous form, full of austerity, fought on.

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With blades and points well employed, they struck [each other]; / all the gods, gandharvas, and kinnaras were intent on watching.

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Filled with the utmost amazement, they said nothing at all to him; / and the wind did not blow then, and the sun lost its splendor.

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Then Himālaya, Meru, Śvetakūṭa, Dardura, / Malaya the great mountain, Maināka, Mount Vindhya,

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the two great mountains Lokāloka, Mount Mānasottara, / Kailāsa, Mandara, Mālya, and Gandhamādana,

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the mountain of sunrise, Mahendra, and likewise the great mountain of sunset—

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these and many other mountains of great splendor, / overwhelmed with affection, came then, desiring to protect Kumāra.

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Then, seeing all those mountains terrified with fear, / the son of Śaṃkara, the son of the Mountain's daughter, spoke, reassuring them:

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Kumāra said: / “Do not despair, O blessed ones! Do not worry, O mountains! / Today I shall slay this most sinful one while everyone looks on here.”

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Having thus comforted those mountains along with the hosts of gods, / Kumāra, the wise one dear to Hari, bowed in his mind to Śambhu and bowed down to his own mother.

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Then Kārttikeya severed the enemy's head with his spear; / at that instant, that head of Tāraka fell upon the earth; / thus did Kārttikeya, the great lord, attain victory.

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The hosts of gods, the ṛṣis, guhyakas, birds, / kinnaras, cāraṇas, serpents, and likewise troops of apsarases saw him.

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Overcome with great joy, they praised that Kumāra; / vidyādharīs danced, and singers sang at that time.

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Seeing him thus victorious, everyone was filled with joy; / then, having approached out of joy and placed her son upon her lap,

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and embracing him tightly, the Mountain's daughter rejoiced indeed; / placing upon her lap Kumāra, who possessed the radiance of the sun,

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Pārvatī of slender limbs and charming eyes fondled him; / Śambhu, honored by the ṛṣis together with Pārvatī at that time,

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and the virtuous woman seated upon the noble seat, speaking measured words, shone, / being praised by the munis, siddhas, cāraṇas, and pannagas.

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Then Pārvatī, with Śambhu, was venerated with the waving of lights by the gods; / and with Kumāra, the virtuous lady shone then.

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Then Himālaya, having arrived surrounded by his sons / and being praised by Meru and other mountains, became supreme.

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Then all the hosts of gods, Indra and the others together with the ṛṣis, / rained a great shower of flowers upon him of boundless splendor; / placing Kumāra at their head, they were intent on waving lights before him.

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With the sound of songs and musical instruments, and the loud roar of Vedic chanting, / he was praised with various hymns by the foremost of the knowers of the Vedas.

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This supremely wondrous narrative called ‘The Victory of Kumāra’ / removes all sins, is divine, and grants all desires to mortals.

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Those pure people who, endowed with boundless fortune, proclaim this noble / greatness of Kumāra's valor, which assumes an infinite, ageless, and immortal form, indeed brings delight and fulfills the desires of men.

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Whoever reads or hears this deed of the great-souled Kumāra, / known by the name of Tāraka, is released from all sins.

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Thus ends the thirtieth chapter, named ‘Description of the Festival of Victory of Lord Kārttikeya Preceded by the Slaying of the Asura Tāraka,’ in the Śiva-śāstra in the Kedārakhaṇḍa of the first section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit