Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

दुर्गोनाम महादैत्यः शतकोटि रथावृतः । गजानामर्बुदशतद्वयेनपारिवारितः

Transliteration

durgonāma mahādaityaḥ śatakoṭi rathāvṛtaḥ | gajānāmarbudaśatadvayenapārivāritaḥ

Translation

A great Daitya named Durga came forth, surrounded by a hundred crores of chariots, and encircled by two hundred arbuda of elephants.

Word by Word

• दुर्गः: Durga (name of the demon)
• दुर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — proper name ‘Durga’ (asura)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Appositive marker/नाम-निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘by name/namely’

• महादैत्यः: a great demon
• महादैत्यः: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘great daitya’

• शतकोटि: hundred crores
• शतकोटि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययवत् संख्याविशेषण; समास (द्विगु) — ‘a hundred crores’ (numerical qualifier)

• रथावृतः: surrounded by chariots
• रथावृतः: Visheshana (Qualifier of Durga/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रथ + आवृत (कृदन्त from आ-वृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘surrounded/covered with chariots’

• गजानाम्: of elephants
• गजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — ‘of elephants’

• अर्बुद-शत-द्वयेन: by (a force of) two hundred arbuda
• अर्बुद-शत-द्वयेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्बुद + शत + द्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — ‘by two hundreds of arbuda (ten-millions)’ (instrumental of measure)

• पारिवारितः: encircled
• पारिवारितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-√वृ (धातु) → पारिवारित (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘encircled/surrounded’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda narrating to Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Durga-nāma mahādaitya appears like a moving fortress: a sea of chariots, flanked by massive elephant divisions, standards rising like a forest, dust and thunder underfoot.

Characters & Entities

• Durga (as a daitya named Durga, not the goddess)
• Daityas
• Chariots
• Elephants

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly might and military grandeur are portrayed as immense, yet the Purāṇic vision reminds that such power is not ultimate in the face of divine dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra is the overarching setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, within which these confrontations unfold.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a catalogue of forces.