Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

राक्षसो मृत्युवशगो वज्रेणेव महीधरः । विद्याधरोपि तच्छूलघातेन विकलीकृतः

Transliteration

rākṣaso mṛtyuvaśago vajreṇeva mahīdharaḥ | vidyādharopi tacchūlaghātena vikalīkṛtaḥ

Translation

Le Rākṣasa, désormais sous l’empire de la Mort, s’effondra tel une montagne frappée par le vajra; et le Vidyādhara aussi fut estropié par le coup de cette lance.

Word by Word

• राक्षसः: the demon
• राक्षसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• मृत्युवशगः: gone under the control of death (doomed)
• मृत्युवशगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक) + वश (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (प्रातिपदिक/प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण

• वज्रेण: by a thunderbolt
• वज्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• इव: as if/like
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-वाचक अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• महीधरः: a mountain
• महीधरः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• विद्याधरः: the Vidyādhara
• विद्याधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक अव्यय (also/even)

• तत्: that (his/that)
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम, समासे पूर्वपदत्वेन

• शूलघातेन: by the blow of a spear
• शूलघातेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + घात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• विकलीकृतः: was disabled/maimed
• विकलीकृतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकलीकृत (कृदन्त; √कृ धातु, क्त; उपसर्ग: वि; नामधातु-आधार: विकल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विधेय

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly framed as Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rākṣasa collapses like a thunderbolt-split mountain; nearby a Vidyādhara, struck by a spear, reels and becomes crippled—battlefield dust and broken weapons around them.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa
• Vidyādhara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When time ripens, even the mighty fall; mortality underscores the need to align one’s life with dharma and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but no distinct tīrtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive of events.