Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

अथ तेन समं वज्री चक्रेऽष्टादश संयुगान् । एकस्मिन्नपि नो लेभे विजयं द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

atha tena samaṃ vajrī cakre'ṣṭādaśa saṃyugān | ekasminnapi no lebhe vijayaṃ dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

ثم إنَّ فَجْرِي (إندرا)، مُكافئًا له في القتال، خاض ثمانيَ عشرةَ وقعةً؛ غيرَ أنه لم ينل النصرَ في واحدةٍ منها، يا خيرَ ذوي المولدَين.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक) — 'then/thereupon'

• तेन: with him
• तेन: Sahakaraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/सह — 'with him'

• समम्: together, equally
• समम्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'equally/together'

• वज्री: Indra (the thunderbolt-bearer)
• वज्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता — epithet of Indra ('wielder of the thunderbolt')

• चक्रे: fought/made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'did/made'

• अष्टादश: eighteen
• अष्टादश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; (समासः द्विगुः) — 'eighteen' (qualifying संयुगान्)

• संयुगान्: battles
• संयुगान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्म — 'battles/encounters'

• एकस्मिन्: in one (even a single one)
• एकस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण — 'in even one (battle)'

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अप्यर्थक-निपात) — 'even/also'

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात) — negation

• लेभे: obtained
• लेभे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'obtained'

• विजयम्: victory
• विजयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा — 'O best of twice-born (Brahmins)'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing brāhmaṇas)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattamāḥ (addressed audience of brahmins/sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Vajrī) stands firm across multiple clashes—eighteen engagements suggested by repeated vignettes or a ring of battle-scenes—yet victory eludes him; sages addressed as witnesses (‘dvijasattamāḥ’).

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Vajrī)
• Vṛtra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power and pride do not guarantee victory; endurance in dharma is tested through repeated struggle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative setting; the specific tīrtha is not named in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative context (itihāsa-style) supporting the Māhātmya.