Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

पातालाच्च समायातास्तारकस्योपजीविनः । चेरुरंगबलोपेता हन्तुकामाः सुरान्रणे

Transliteration

pātālācca samāyātāstārakasyopajīvinaḥ | ceruraṃgabalopetā hantukāmāḥ surānraṇe

Translation

ومن باتالا جاء الذين كانوا يعتاشون في كنف تارَكا. وقد مُنحوا قوّةً جسدية، فراحوا يتحرّكون هنا وهناك، عازمين على قتل الآلهة في ساحة القتال.

Word by Word

• pātālāt: from Pātāla (netherworld)
• pātālāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (and)

• samāyātāḥ: having come/arrived
• samāyātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (या)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tārakasya: of Tāraka
• tārakasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• upajīvinaḥ: dependents/servants (those who live by him)
• upajīvinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upajīvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ceruḥ: moved/went about
• ceruḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √car (चर्)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• aṅga-bala-upetāḥ: endowed with bodily strength
• aṅga-bala-upetāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक) + upeta (प्रातिपदिक; from upa-√i ‘इ’/√i ‘to go’ in sense ‘endowed’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘अङ्गबलैः उपेताः’ = endowed with bodily strength)

• hantu-kāmāḥ: desirous to kill
• hantu-kāmāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hantu (तुमुनन्त/कृदन्त from √han ‘हन्’) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘हन्तुं कामः’)

• surān: the gods
• surān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• raṇe: in battle
• raṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From dark subterranean caverns, Tāraka’s dependents surge upward—muscular, armed, restless—moving in swarms toward the deva host, the earth trembling at their emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Tāraka
• Asuric forces (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma also mobilizes its forces; the Purāṇa frames conflict as a moral struggle extending across worlds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger scene remains in/around Antarvedī, though this verse specifically mentions Pātāla as the origin of hostile forces.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is martial narration.