Karṇāṭaka Daitya

Karṇāṭaka was a daitya (a kind of asura) of great power. He troubled Dharmāraṇya (also called Satya Mandira) and the lands around it after the city was rebuilt. Neither the devas nor the dānavas could stand against him, and he had conquered all the worlds.

His special cruelty was against married couples. He seized them by daitya-māyā (a daitya’s magic) at their wedding rites and carried them away. Because of the fear of him, the study of the Vedas, the yajñas (fire rituals) and all acts of dharma stopped in those lands. He could not enter Dharmāraṇya, because of the guarding power of Śrīmātā. The brāhmaṇas worshipped Śrīmātā, and she brought forth Mātaṅgī. After a battle of some months, Mātaṅgī slew Karṇāṭaka. His name came from his coming out through Mātaṅgī’s ear (karṇa) in the fight. The land in the south that he then settled was called Karṇāṭaka. He also set up the Yāksha-vrata (a vow) before he left.

Power and cruelty

Even the devas could not stand against Karṇāṭaka. He had conquered all the worlds by his fierce strength (vīrya). He chose to defile the most holy moment in the life of dharma, the marriage rite. He took the form of a brāhmaṇa and came to weddings where Vedic mantras were being recited. At the highest point of the rite he used daitya-māyā to seize the couple and carry them off into the sky.

The fear of Karṇāṭaka stopped Vedic recitation, yajñas, sandhyā worship and all rites of dharma in the lands where he roamed. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 18)

He could not enter Dharmāraṇya

For all his power, Karṇāṭaka could not enter Dharmāraṇya, which is also Satya Mandira. The guarding power of Śrīmātā, and the Śaktis set up by the kājeśas, made a barrier he could not break. The sound of Vedic recitation from inside the city hurt him like the blow of a vajra (thunderbolt). He went round the city in anger, looking for a way in, and found none.

Outside the walls he went on harming the many brāhmaṇas who gathered there for festivals and weddings. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 18)

The name Karṇāṭaka

In the battle with Mātaṅgī, Karṇāṭaka tried several times to escape through her body. Mātaṅgī was full of divine power. She swallowed him, and he came out through her nose. She swallowed him again, and he came out through her ear (karṇa-randhra).

Because of this, Mātaṅgī herself gave him his name. She said, “Because you came out through the karṇa-randhra (the opening of the ear), you are called Karṇāṭaka.” (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 18)

Defeat and departure

The battle lasted three months. It ended on Māgha kṛshṇa tṛtīyā (the third day of the dark half of Māgha). Mātaṅgī slew Karṇāṭaka by throwing him to the ground with great force. His body fell like a mountain, and the earth shook.

After this he was driven south, where he settled along a great coastal region. Before he left, Karṇāṭaka declared a vrata in his own name, the Yāksha-vrata. He asked the people of Dharmāraṇya to keep it in the month of Māgha to calm him. The land he held in the south was named Karṇāṭaka after him.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 18