Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

येन वै शिशुनोर्व्यां हि घातिता दुष्टचारिणी । राक्षसी ताडका नाम्नी कौशिकस्य प्रसादतः

Transliteration

yena vai śiśunorvyāṃ hi ghātitā duṣṭacāriṇī | rākṣasī tāḍakā nāmnī kauśikasya prasādataḥ

Translation

Par son action, en vérité, fut terrassée la rākṣasī aux actes pervers, nommée Tāḍakā, par la grâce et l’ordre de Kauśika (Viśvāmitra).

Word by Word

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्दः; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/Instrumental), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-रूपम् (सन्दर्भे कर्तरि)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• शिशुनोः: of the two boys/children
• शिशुनोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध/Genitive), द्विवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• व्याम्: (emphatic particle)
• व्याम्: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: व्य (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic/associative particle; पाठान्तर-सम्भव)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (causal/emphatic particle)

• घातिता: was slain
• घातिता: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) + घातित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दुष्टचारिणी: evil-doing
• दुष्टचारिणी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्ट + चारिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• राक्षसी: the demoness
• राक्षसी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ताडका: Tāḍakā
• ताडका: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताडका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

• नाम्नी: by name / named
• नाम्नी: Sambandha (Naming/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/Instrumental) एकवचन; ‘नाम्ना/नाम्नी’ = “by name/ named”

• कौशिकस्य: of Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)
• कौशिकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध/Genitive), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• प्रसादतः: through the favor (of)
• प्रसादतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/Ablative), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; अव्ययीभावार्थे “प्रसादतः” = “by/through the favor”

Speaker

Narrator within Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya (contextual; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Young Rāma, guided by sage Viśvāmitra, releases a decisive arrow; the fearsome rākṣasī Tāḍakā falls in a forest near the hermitage; sacrificial fires and startled deer frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Tāḍakā
• Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)
• Rāma (implied)
• Lakṣmaṇa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Righteous power is sanctified when exercised under dharma and the guidance of a realized teacher; evil is restrained for the protection of sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Dharmāraṇya sacred region is being praised; this verse supports its māhātmya by recalling dharmic deeds connected with sanctifying holy spaces.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the focus is on dharmic protection aligned with a sage’s injunction.