Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अथ दैतेयराजेन बाहुसंकर्षकोपतः । उत्पाट्य शैलशिखरं परिक्षिप्तं नभोंगणात्

Transliteration

atha daiteyarājena bāhusaṃkarṣakopataḥ | utpāṭya śailaśikharaṃ parikṣiptaṃ nabhoṃgaṇāt

Translation

Then the king of the Daityas, in rage born of straining his arms, tore up a mountain-peak and hurled it across the expanse of the sky.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक/सम्बन्धबोधक) — ‘then/now’

• daiteyarājena: by the demon-king
• daiteyarājena: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiteya-rāja (प्रातिपदिक; दैतेय + राजा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — करण/कर्तृवाचक: ‘by the Daitya-king’

• bāhusaṃkarṣakopataḥ: from anger (arising from arm-straining)
• bāhusaṃkarṣakopataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu-saṃkarṣa-kopa (प्रातिपदिक; बाहु + संकर्ष + कोप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — हेतु: ‘from anger due to arm-straining/pulling’

• utpāṭya: having uprooted
• utpāṭya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√paṭ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having torn up/uprooted’

• śailaśikharam: a mountain peak
• śailaśikharam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaila-śikhara (प्रातिपदिक; शैल + शिखर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• parikṣiptam: thrown
• parikṣiptam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√kṣip (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) — नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘thrown/cast around’ (qualifying śailaśikharaṃ)

• nabhoṃgaṇāt: from the sky
• nabhoṃgaṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas-aṅgaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; नभस् + अङ्गण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — अपादान: ‘from the sky-region’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / kathā-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The daitya-king, veins taut, wrenches a mountain peak from its base; rocks and roots tear free as the peak arcs across the sky toward Devī.

Characters & Entities

• Durga (Daitya king)
• Devī
• Daitya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Raw force and fury may appear immense, yet it is still limited before the Divine who upholds dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered sacred narration, though it depicts battlefield action rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a combat episode describing the Daitya’s escalation.