Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

दैत्यानां वैष्णवाः केचित्प्रह्लादप्रमुखा द्विजाः । तथाहि राक्षसानां च विभीषणपुरोगमाः

Transliteration

daityānāṃ vaiṣṇavāḥ kecitprahlādapramukhā dvijāḥ | tathāhi rākṣasānāṃ ca vibhīṣaṇapurogamāḥ

Translation

হে দ্বিজ! দৈত্যদের মধ্যে কিছু বৈষ্ণব আছেন—তাদের মধ্যে প্রহ্লাদ প্রধান। তদ্রূপ রাক্ষসদের মধ্যেও বিভীষণের নেতৃত্বে ভক্তগণ আছেন।

Word by Word

• daityānām: of the Daityas
• daityānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• vaiṣṇavāḥ: devotees of Viṣṇu
• vaiṣṇavāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम; किम्+चित्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• prahlāda-pramukhāḥ: led by Prahlāda
• prahlāda-pramukhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prahlāda (प्रातिपदिक) + pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण; ‘प्रह्लादः प्रमुखः येषाम्’ (headed by Prahlāda)

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थ (likewise)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• rākṣasānām: of the Rākṣasas
• rākṣasānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• vibhīṣaṇa-purogamāḥ: led by Vibhīṣaṇa
• vibhīṣaṇa-purogamāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vibhīṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + purogama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण; ‘विभीषणः पुरोगमः येषाम्’ (having Vibhīṣaṇa as leader)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija addressee (explicit in verse: ‘O twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: on one side Prahlāda in prayer to Viṣṇu, serene amid asuric surroundings; on the other Vibhīṣaṇa with folded hands, dhārmika and calm, contrasted with rākṣasa imagery—both presented as exemplars within a Śaiva narrative frame.

Characters & Entities

• Daityas
• Viṣṇu
• Prahlāda
• Rākṣasas
• Vibhīṣaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion transcends birth and clan: even among Daityas and Rākṣasas arise exemplary devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra context continues, though this verse primarily teaches a universal bhakti principle rather than site-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on bhakti (devotional orientation) present across all beings.