Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

भक्ष्यार्थं तं मुनिं सोऽयं राक्षसोभिगमिष्यति । ततो गालवरक्षार्थं प्रेरितं चक्रमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

bhakṣyārthaṃ taṃ muniṃ so'yaṃ rākṣasobhigamiṣyati | tato gālavarakṣārthaṃ preritaṃ cakramuttamam

Translation

Um jenen Weisen zu verschlingen, wird dieser Rākṣasa sich ihm nähern. Dann wird zum Schutz Gālavas das höchste Diskusrad in Bewegung gesetzt.

Word by Word

• bhakṣya-artham: for eating (as food)
• bhakṣya-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् ‘for the purpose of eating’

• tam: that (him)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• munim: sage
• munim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• rākṣasaḥ: demon
• rākṣasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• abhigamiṣyati: will approach
• abhigamiṣyati: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi- (उपसर्ग) + gam (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक ‘then/from that’

• gālava-rakṣā-artham: for Gālava’s protection
• gālava-rakṣā-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: gālava (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; ‘for the purpose of protecting Gālava’

• preritam: sent; impelled
• preritam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra- (उपसर्ग) + īr (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र चक्रम् इति विशेष्येण सह—‘sent/impelled’

• cakram: discus (chakra)
• cakram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (कर्मणि/कथने)

• uttamam: excellent; supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; चक्रम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakratīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: surāṅganāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rākṣasa lunges toward the meditating Gālava; from the sky, a radiant spinning discus descends, forming a protective arc around the sage; the tīrtha waters shimmer with reflected light.

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Rākṣasa
• Cakra (Viṣṇu’s discus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine protects dharma by safeguarding saints; hostile forces are checked when they threaten a realized devotee.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakratīrtha is implied through the discus (cakra) motif and the preceding verse’s location reference.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates divine protection through the cakra.