Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

ततस्ते हैहयाः सर्वे शरैराशीविषोपमैः । वध्यन्ते शबरैः संख्ये गर्जमानैर्मुहुर्मुहुः

Transliteration

tataste haihayāḥ sarve śarairāśīviṣopamaiḥ | vadhyante śabaraiḥ saṃkhye garjamānairmuhurmuhuḥ

Translation

ثم إن أولئك الهايهايا جميعًا صُرِعوا في المعركة على يد الشَّبَرة، بسهامٍ كالأفاعي السامّة، وهم يزأرون مرةً بعد مرة.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक (indeclinable: ‘then’)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• हैहयाः: the Haihayas
• हैहयाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हैहय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with हैहयाः)

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• आशीविषोपमैः: like venomous serpents
• आशीविषोपमैः: Karana (Instrument-qualifier/करणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशीविष + उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उपमान-तत्पुरुष: ‘आशीविषैः उपमाः’); पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with शरैः)

• वध्यन्ते: are being slain
• वध्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present); प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• शबरैः: by the Śabaras
• शबरैः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शबर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• संख्ये: in battle
• संख्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th case), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• गर्जमानैः: roaring
• गर्जमानैः: Kartr (Agent-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गर्ज् (धातु) → गर्जमान (शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with शबरैः)

• मुहुः: repeatedly
• मुहुः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘again and again’)

• मुहुः: again and again
• मुहुः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यमक/पुनरुक्ति (reduplication for emphasis)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya account

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śabara archers unleash volleys; arrows streak like black serpents; Haihaya warriors collapse amid dust and thunderous roars; the battlefield is alive with motion and sound.

Characters & Entities

• Haihaya
• Śabara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Might and status do not guarantee victory; the Purāṇic arc often reveals a deeper moral causality behind apparent military outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicit in this verse; it functions as part of the chapter’s sacred-geography narrative stream (later tying to the Narmadā frame).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.