Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

त्रयोऽपि च महाकायाः सप्ततालप्रमाणकाः । न शमो जायते तेषां युध्यतां च परस्परम्

Transliteration

trayo'pi ca mahākāyāḥ saptatālapramāṇakāḥ | na śamo jāyate teṣāṃ yudhyatāṃ ca parasparam

Translation

Tous trois avaient des corps gigantesques, chacun haut de sept tālas ; et nulle paix ne naissait en eux tandis qu’ils se combattaient l’un l’autre.

Word by Word

• त्रयः: three
• त्रयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-भावार्थक-निपात (particle ‘also/even’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• महाकायाः: huge-bodied
• महाकायाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाकाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महा + काय); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• सप्ततालप्रमाणकाः: measuring seven tālas (tall)
• सप्ततालप्रमाणकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या) + ताल (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रमाणक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्त-ताल-प्रमाणक ‘of the measure of seven tālas’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-निपात (negation)

• शमः: peace/calm
• शमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• जायते: arises/comes about
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• युध्यताम्: (of) those fighting
• युध्यताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle) ‘yudhyat’; षष्ठी-बहुवचन-सम्बन्धे (genitive plural sense: ‘of those fighting’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• परस्परम्: mutually
• परस्परम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण), ‘अन्योन्यम्’ अर्थे (adverb ‘mutually/with each other’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three colossal fighters, each towering like seven tālas, locked in combat with no pause; dust clouds and broken trees/rocks show the scale; faces fierce, eyes wide, no sign of pacification.

Characters & Entities

• Nandī
• Mahākāla
• Dānava (implied combatant triad context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked aggression breeds further unrest; dharma ultimately requires the restoring power of divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.