Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

संप्राप्तेऽपि कबंधाख्ये राक्षसे बलवत्तरे । त्वया रात्रिमुखे घोरे सभार्योऽहं प्ररक्षितः

Transliteration

saṃprāpte'pi kabaṃdhākhye rākṣase balavattare | tvayā rātrimukhe ghore sabhāryo'haṃ prarakṣitaḥ

Translation

Even when the mighty rākṣasa named Kabandha confronted us, in the dreadful onset of night you protected me—together with my wife.

Word by Word

• saṃprāpte: when (he) had arrived
• saṃprāpte: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-prāp (धातु) → saṃprāpta (कृदन्त)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-सम्भाव्य; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) — 'having arrived/when arrived'

• api: even/although
• api: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — concessive 'even/although'

• kabaṃdha-ākhye: in/at the one called Kabandha
• kabaṃdha-ākhye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kabaṃdha (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine); समासः—तत्पुरुष (नाम-आख्य) 'called Kabandha'

• rākṣase: in the demon
• rākṣase: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine)

• balavattare: (who was) stronger
• balavattare: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: balavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; तर-प्रत्यय (comparative) — 'stronger/very strong'

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• rātri-mukhe: at nightfall
• rātri-mukhe: Adhikarana (Time-locative/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rātri (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter); समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) 'at the beginning of night'

• ghore: terrible
• ghore: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण (qualifying rātrimukhe)

• sa-bhāryaḥ: with (my) wife
• sa-bhāryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग-सदृश/सह-अर्थक) + bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; समासः—बहुव्रीहि 'having (one’s) wife'

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• prarakṣitaḥ: was protected
• prarakṣitaḥ: Karma (Patient/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-rakṣ (धातु) → prarakṣita (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग — 'having been protected' (passive sense)

Speaker

Rāghava (Rāma) (continued lament)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (contextual) Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night scene in the forest: a fearsome Kabandha-like rākṣasa confronts a small party; the protector stands alert, shielding a man and his wife at the ‘onset of night’.

Characters & Entities

• Rāghava (Rāma)
• Lakṣmaṇa
• Kabandha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kṣatriya-dharma—protecting the vulnerable and standing firm in danger—is praised as sacred duty, remembered as spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarayū tīrtha is the narrative frame; this verse adds Ramāyaṇa remembrance to intensify the tīrtha’s emotional and dharmic significance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a remembrance of protection during peril rather than a direct instruction on rites.