Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

सैन्ये च तस्य निहता देव्या बाणैर्द्विजोत्तमाः । लक्षकोटिसहस्राणि प्रधानासुरनायकाः

Transliteration

sainye ca tasya nihatā devyā bāṇairdvijottamāḥ | lakṣakoṭisahasrāṇi pradhānāsuranāyakāḥ

Translation

Und in seinem Heer, o Bester der Zweimalgeborenen, wurden unzählige führende Anführer der Asuras durch die Pfeile der Göttin erschlagen—zu Lakhs, Crores und Tausenden.

Word by Word

• सैन्ये: in the army
• सैन्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• तस्य: of him/that (of that one)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular; pronoun)

• निहताः: were slain
• निहताः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; passive sense)

• देव्याः: by the Goddess
• देव्याः: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular)

• बाणैः: with arrows
• बाणैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• द्विज-उत्तमाः: the best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विज-उत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• लक्ष-कोटि-सहस्राणि: thousands of lakhs of crores (vast numbers)
• लक्ष-कोटि-सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यासमूहवाचक-तत्पुरुष (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• प्रधान-असुर-नायकाः: chief leaders of the Asuras
• प्रधान-असुर-नायकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रधान (प्रातिपदिक) + असुर (प्रातिपदिक) + नायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

Speaker

Sūta (addressing sages/brahmins as dvijottamāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra / Setubandha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rain of arrows from the Goddess sweeps through the demon army; chief asura leaders fall in waves; the battlefield becomes a patterned field of broken standards and scattered weapons.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Asura leaders

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When adharma organizes itself as ‘leadership’ and ‘power,’ it still falls before divine guardianship of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu region is the text’s frame; this verse itself is not a tīrtha-phala statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.