Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

त्रिशूलेन ततो भिन्नः शक्तिभिः क्रोधमूर्च्छितः । हन्यमानस्तदा रक्षः प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा दिवं गतः

Transliteration

triśūlena tato bhinnaḥ śaktibhiḥ krodhamūrcchitaḥ | hanyamānastadā rakṣaḥ prāṇāṃstyaktvā divaṃ gataḥ

Translation

حينئذٍ ذاك الرّاكشسا، وقد خُرق بالرمح الثلاثي وضُرب بالرماح، وهو مغمور بسُعار الغضب إذ كان يُطرَح أرضًا، ترك نَفَسَ الحياة وصعد إلى السماء.

Word by Word

• त्रिशूलेन: by/with the trident
• त्रिशूलेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिशूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by/with the trident)

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: then/from there)

• भिन्नः: split; wounded; pierced
• भिन्नः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भिन्न (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past passive participle (kta), nominative singular masculine; agrees with रक्षः

• शक्तिभिः: by spears
• शक्तिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural (by spears/lances)

• क्रोधमूर्च्छितः: frenzied by anger
• क्रोधमूर्च्छितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रोध (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्च्छित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — तत्पुरुष-समास (क्रोधेन मूर्च्छितः); PPP (kta) used adjectivally; agrees with रक्षः

• हन्यमानः: being struck/killed
• हन्यमानः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हन्यमान (कृदन्त, शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Present passive participle (śānac), nominative singular masculine; agrees with रक्षः

• तदा: at that time
• तदा: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb: at that time)

• रक्षः: the demon (rakṣas)
• रक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter (rakṣas/demon)

• प्राणान्: his life-breaths
• प्राणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural (life-breaths)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) → त्यक्त्वा (कृदन्त, त्वान्त)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-रूपकृदन्त (त्वान्त/gerund) — Absolutive: having abandoned

• दिवम्: to heaven
• दिवम्: Gati/Karma (Goal/गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्/द्यौस् (प्रातिपदिक: दिव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/गति), एकवचन — Accusative singular (to heaven)

• गतः: went
• गतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle (kta) used as finite sense: ‘went’; agrees with रक्षः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rākṣasa, body arched in fury, is pierced by a trident and struck by spears; as he falls, his life-breath departs upward toward the heavens, while the sacred forest and āśrama backdrop re-emerges in calm.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa
• Triśūla
• Śakti (spear)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma that attacks sacred life is ultimately destroyed; divine forces protect dharma and even the violent end becomes a karmic turning-point.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (the sacred forest) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa’s Dharmāraṇya section; the episode supports the site’s protective sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative description of the demon’s defeat.