Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

उपविष्टास्ततस्तस्य सर्वे भूत्वा समंततः । प्रहारान्संप्रयच्छंति न लगंति च तस्य ते

Transliteration

upaviṣṭāstatastasya sarve bhūtvā samaṃtataḥ | prahārānsaṃprayacchaṃti na lagaṃti ca tasya te

Translation

Dann setzten sie sich ringsum von allen Seiten und begannen, immer wieder auf es einzuschlagen; doch jene Schläge zeigten keine Wirkung an ihm.

Word by Word

• उपविष्टाः: seated
• उपविष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + √विश् (धातु) → उपविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past participle, active sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘having sat down/being seated’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then/thereafter’

• तस्य: of him/that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — ‘of him/its’

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘all (of them)’

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), ‘having become’

• समन्ततः: all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Spatial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘all around’

• प्रहारान्: blows
• प्रहारान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन — ‘blows/strikes’

• संप्रयच्छन्ति: they strike/deliver
• संप्रयच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + √यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — ‘they deliver/they bestow’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय — negation ‘not’

• लगन्ति: they stick/take effect
• लगन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √लग् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — ‘they adhere/they stick; they take effect’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय — ‘and’

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — ‘of him’

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘they/those’

Speaker

Deductive: Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to sages within a Māhātmya-style frame (speaker not explicit in snippet).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas seated/positioned in a tight ring around the pinned being, striking in repeated waves; the being remains unshaken, suggesting invulnerability; faces show strain and alarm.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brute force cannot overcome what is protected by higher ordinance; dharma and divine will set limits to power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits inside the Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya narrative frame; the exact tīrtha name is not stated in this isolated shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.