Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

तेन ते प्रमथाः सर्वे महाबलपराक्रमाः । शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थां प्रापिता वात्ययेव हि

Transliteration

tena te pramathāḥ sarve mahābalaparākramāḥ | śuṣkaparṇatṛṇāvasthāṃ prāpitā vātyayeva hi

Translation

Durch ihn wurden all jene Pramathas, von großer Kraft und Tapferkeit, zu dürrem Laub und trockenem Gras herabgemacht, als hätte sie ein wütender Wirbelsturm niedergeworfen.

Word by Word

• तेन: by that (by him/it)
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (instrumental singular of pronoun)

• ते: to you / for you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (dative singular)

• प्रमथाः: the Pramathas (attendants)
• प्रमथाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (agreeing with प्रमथाः)

• महाबलपराक्रमाः: of great strength and valor
• महाबलपराक्रमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल + पराक्रम (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (महाबलश्च पराक्रमश्च यस्य/येषां ते) विशेषणम्

• शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थाम्: the condition of dry leaves and grass
• शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुष्क + पर्ण + तृण + अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शुष्कपर्णतृणानां अवस्था)

• प्रापिताः: were made to reach / were reduced to
• प्रापिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्रापित (कृदन्त, णिच्-प्रयोगे कर्मणि/हेतुमति)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (कर्मणि-प्रयोगे), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘प्रापित’ = caused to reach / made to become

• वात्यया: by a whirlwind
• वात्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात्यया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्ययम् (particle of comparison)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience / interlocutors within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storm-like force scatters and flattens Śiva’s pramathas; bodies and banners tumble like dry leaves in a violent gust, dust and torn foliage swirling across a sacred battlefield.

Characters & Entities

• Pramathas
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly strength collapses instantly before divine will; humility and dharma are superior to mere force.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) Māhātmya, though this verse itself is part of a mythic episode rather than a direct tīrtha-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive, portraying the defeat of Śiva’s attendants.