Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एवं देवा अपि क्षुण्णा मच्छरैर्ये महत्तराः । किं पुनर्मानवाः सुभ्रूः कृमिप्रायाः सुचंचलाः

Transliteration

evaṃ devā api kṣuṇṇā maccharairye mahattarāḥ | kiṃ punarmānavāḥ subhrūḥ kṛmiprāyāḥ sucaṃcalāḥ

Translation

So werden selbst die größeren Götter von meinen Pfeilen zermalmt. Wie viel mehr erst die Menschen, o Schönbrauige — wurmgleich und von Natur so wankelmütig!

Word by Word

• evam: Thus
• evam: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• devāḥ: Gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• api: Even/Also
• api: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• kṣuṇṇāḥ: Crushed/Trampled/Hurt
• kṣuṇṇāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣud (धातु)
• Form: Past Passive Participle (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• mat-śaraiḥ: By my arrows
• mat-śaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat-śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• ye: Who
• ye: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• mahattarāḥ: Greater/Mightier
• mahattarāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahattara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Comparative, Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• kim: What
• kim: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative Particle

• punaḥ: Then/Again
• punaḥ: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• mānavāḥ: Humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• subhrūḥ: O beautiful-browed one
• subhrūḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhrū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative (Sambodhana), Singular (Visarga retained)

• kṛmi-prāyāḥ: Like worms/Worm-like
• kṛmi-prāyāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛmi-prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• su-caṃcalāḥ: Very unsteady/fickle
• su-caṃcalāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-cañcala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

Speaker

Kāma (Puṣpaśara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A proud archer-figure personifying Kāma boasts that even gods fall to his arrows, while addressing a fair-browed woman; the atmosphere is charged, confrontational, and seductive.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Deva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

If even the gods can be shaken by desire, humans must practice stronger self-restraint, devotion, and dharmic discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular site is named in this verse; it is a general admonition within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the implied practice is self-control (dama) and dharmic conduct.