Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

तस्मिंस्तु निहते शूरे राक्षसे स महीपतिः । राक्षसत्वाद्विनिर्मुक्तो लेभे कायं नृपोद्भवम्

Transliteration

tasmiṃstu nihate śūre rākṣase sa mahīpatiḥ | rākṣasatvādvinirmukto lebhe kāyaṃ nṛpodbhavam

Translation

Als jener heldenhafte Rākṣasa getötet war, erlangte der König – befreit vom Zustand des Rākṣasa-Daseins – einen Körper zurück, der einem königlichen Geblüt entsprach.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that (situation/place)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक (adversative/emphatic)

• निहते: (when) slain
• निहते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु) → निहत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular), पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine) — ‘when/after (he) was slain’

• शूरे: in/with the hero
• शूरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• राक्षसे: in/with the rākṣasa
• राक्षसे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• महीपतिः: the king (lord of the earth)
• महीपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘earth’s lord’), पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• राक्षसत्वात्: from rākṣasa-hood
• राक्षसत्वात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस + त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative/5th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• विनिर्मुक्तः: freed, released
• विनिर्मुक्तः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-निर्-मुच् (धातु) → विनिर्मुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• लेभे: obtained
• लेभे: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular), आत्मनेपदम् (Ātmanepada)

• कायम्: a body
• कायम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular)

• नृपोद्भवम्: born of a king (royal-born)
• नृपोद्भवम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नृप + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘arising from a king’), पुल्लिङ्गे (masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (implied addressee in the surrounding passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A formerly rākṣasa-bodied king stands newly restored—radiant, regal, and human—amid the aftermath of battle; the contrast between monstrous past and royal present is emphasized.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas emphasize that bondage to degraded states can end through decisive dharmic action, leading to restoration of one’s rightful nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; the purification motif aligns with tīrtha-māhātmya themes but the place-name is not stated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.