Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

हिरण्यकशिपोः पुत्रो देवदानवदर्पहा । सोऽपि राज्यममात्येभ्यो निधाय तदनन्तरम्

Transliteration

hiraṇyakaśipoḥ putro devadānavadarpahā | so'pi rājyamamātyebhyo nidhāya tadanantaram

Translation

ابنُ هيرانيكاشيبو—الذي حطّم كبرياء الدِّيفات والدّانافات معًا—سلّم مُلكه إلى وزرائه، ثم بعد ذلك اعتزل شؤون الحكم.

Word by Word

• हिरण्यकशिपोः: of Hiraṇyakaśipu
• हिरण्यकशिपोः: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्यकशिपु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवदानवदर्पहा: destroyer of the pride of devas and dānavas
• देवदानवदर्पहा: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + ह (धातु/प्रातिपदिक ‘हन्’ भाव)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-सम्बन्धार्थ: ‘देव-दानव- दर्प-हा’ = ‘slayer of the pride of devas and dānavas’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; पुत्रः विशेषण

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: also/even)

• राज्यम्: the kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अमात्येभ्यः: to the ministers
• अमात्येभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमात्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative) बहुवचन (दाने/सम्प्रदाने)

• निधाय: having entrusted
• निधाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नि-धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having entrusted/placed’

• तत्: that (then)
• तत्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Temporal reference)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावे ‘तद्’ = ‘that/then’ (here with अनन्तरम्)

• अनन्तरम्: thereafter
• अनन्तरम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: immediately after)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (assembly of sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahlāda, identified as Hiraṇyakaśipu’s son, stands before ministers, calmly entrusting the kingdom; the aura suggests his spiritual stature surpassing royal power.

Characters & Entities

• Hiraṇyakaśipu
• Andhaka
• Deva
• Dānava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even great power is to be set aside when one turns toward tapas and higher dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but no single tīrtha-name is stated in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; it introduces the renunciatory move of handing over the kingdom before austerity.