Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

शक्त्यृष्टिपाशमुशलैः खड्गैस्तोमरटङ्कनैः । भल्लैः कर्णिकनाराचैः कबन्धपटसंकुलैः

Transliteration

śaktyṛṣṭipāśamuśalaiḥ khaḍgaistomaraṭaṅkanaiḥ | bhallaiḥ karṇikanārācaiḥ kabandhapaṭasaṃkulaiḥ

Translation

Mit Speeren, Wurfspießen, Schlingen und Keulen; mit Schwertern, Tomaras und Streitäxten; mit Bhallas und Widerhakenpfeilen—dicht gedrängt von kopflosen Rümpfen und abgetrennten Gliedern—

Word by Word

• शक्ति-ऋष्टि-पाश-मुशलैः: with spears, lances, nooses and clubs
• शक्ति-ऋष्टि-पाश-मुशलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + पाश (प्रातिपदिक) + मुशल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — 'with spears, lances, nooses, clubs'

• खड्गैः: with swords
• खड्गैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• तोमर-टङ्कनैः: with javelins and axes/picks
• तोमर-टङ्कनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोमर (प्रातिपदिक) + टङ्कन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — द्वन्द्व: 'with javelins and axes/picks'

• भल्लैः: with barbed arrows/darts
• भल्लैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• कर्णिक-नाराचैः: with karnika-type iron arrows
• कर्णिक-नाराचैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्णिक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाराच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — तत्पुरुष: 'कर्णिक-प्रकारैः नाराचैः' (with karnika-type iron arrows)

• कबन्ध-पट-संकुलैः: with (things) crowded with headless trunks and banners/cloths
• कबन्ध-पट-संकुलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कबन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + पट (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — तत्पुरुष: 'कबन्धैः पटैश्च संकुलैः' (crowded with headless trunks and cloth/banners)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) [deduced]

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha region

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense melee of weapons—spears, javelins, nooses, clubs, swords, axes—while arrows fly; the ground is crowded with headless trunks and severed limbs, conveying the battle’s terror.

Characters & Entities

• Weapons (śakti, ṛṣṭi, pāśa, muśala, khaḍga, tomara, ṭaṅkaṇa, bhalla, nārāca)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It starkly depicts the cost of adharma-driven aggression, underscoring the necessity of restoring order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the verse is a battlefield tableau within Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive narration of combat.