Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

आच्छिन्नं हि धनुर्वाणं छिन्नं सन्नहनं शरैः । असूदयिष्यमेतांस्तदभविष्यं यदीश्वरः

Transliteration

ācchinnaṃ hi dhanurvāṇaṃ chinnaṃ sannahanaṃ śaraiḥ | asūdayiṣyametāṃstadabhaviṣyaṃ yadīśvaraḥ

Translation

„Man hat mir Bogen und Pfeile entrissen; mein Harnisch ist durch ihre Geschosse in Stücke geschnitten. Ich hätte sie erschlagen — wenn der Herr es nicht anders gewollt hätte.“

Word by Word

• आच्छिन्नम्: torn; cut off
• आच्छिन्नम्: Karma (Predicate of damaged object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + छिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘torn/cut off’ (predicate adjective)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/हेतु), particle ‘indeed/for’

• धनुः-वाणम्: bow and arrows
• धनुः-वाणम्: Karma (Affected item/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व (समाहार): ‘bow and arrows’ as a set

• छिन्नम्: cut
• छिन्नम्: Karma (Predicate of damaged object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सन्नहनम्: armour; equipment
• सन्नहनम्: Karma (Affected item/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्नहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘armour/gear; fastening’

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• असूदयिष्यम्: I will kill
• असूदयिष्यम्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: असूदय् (णिच् causative of सूद्/सूदय् ‘to kill’) (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; ‘I will kill’/‘I will cause to be slain’

• एतान्: these (men)
• एतान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Clause subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; pronoun used as clause-resumptive ‘that (would happen)’

• अभविष्यम्: would happen
• अभविष्यम्: Kriya (Hypothetical action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृङ् (Conditional/potential past), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; ‘would be/would happen’

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/निबन्ध), conditional particle ‘if’

• ईश्वरः: the Lord; God
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narrating); quoted speech by the lone fighter/victim (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battered warrior stands amid broken bow and torn armor, looking upward in surrender; shafts embedded in shattered gear; behind, attackers recoil; a subtle, unseen divine presence suggested by light from above.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (the Lord)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human effort operates within Īśvara’s permission; recognizing divine will tempers pride and reframes defeat without despair.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is named; the theological tone aligns with the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader celebration of Lordship in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.