Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कदाचिदथ ते शाल्वाः संनद्धबहुसैनिकाः । विदर्भनगरीं प्राप्य रुरुधुर्विजिगीषवः

Transliteration

kadācidatha te śālvāḥ saṃnaddhabahusainikāḥ | vidarbhanagarīṃ prāpya rurudhurvijigīṣavaḥ

Translation

Un jour, les Śālvas, munis de nombreuses troupes en armes, atteignirent la cité de Vidarbha et l’assiégèrent, avides de conquête.

Word by Word

• कदाचित्: once, at some time
• कदाचित्: Temporal adjunct (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of time)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (connector)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• शाल्वाः: the Śālvas
• शाल्वाः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाल्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• संनद्धबहुसैनिकाः: well-armed, with many soldiers
• संनद्धबहुसैनिकाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनद्ध + बहु + सैनिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• विदर्भनगरीम्: the city of Vidarbha
• विदर्भनगरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदर्भ + नगरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम् (singular)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया (prior action)

• रुरुधुः: besieged, blocked
• रुरुधुः: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुध् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्

• विजिगीषवः: desiring to conquer
• विजिगीषवः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + जिगीषु (प्रातिपदिक; desiderative adjective from √जि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; इच्छार्थक-विशेषणम् (desiderative: 'wishing to conquer')

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fortified city ringed by enemy camps: rows of tents, standards, elephants and horses; city gates shut; watchtowers with anxious sentries; dust clouds from marching troops.

Characters & Entities

• Śālva
• Vidarbha (city/capital)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked ambition for conquest disrupts social order and triggers dharmic testing through crisis.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No explicit tīrtha; the verse references Vidarbha’s capital as a political setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates military aggression.