Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

भ्रष्टराज्याश्च विबुधा महेशं शरणं गताः । सर्वज्ञेन ततो देवीप्रेरिताऽसुरमर्दने

Transliteration

bhraṣṭarājyāśca vibudhā maheśaṃ śaraṇaṃ gatāḥ | sarvajñena tato devīpreritā'suramardane

Translation

Les dieux, déchus de leur souveraineté, prirent refuge auprès de Maheśa. Alors, sur l’injonction du Seigneur omniscient, la Déesse fut envoyée pour broyer l’asura.

Word by Word

• bhraṣṭa-rājyāḥ: (those) deprived of their kingdom
• bhraṣṭa-rājyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhraṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त from √bhraṃś) + rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘those whose kingdom is lost’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• vibudhāḥ: the gods
• vibudhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• maheśam: Maheśa (Śiva)
• maheśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (Object complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; used as predicate-object with √gam: ‘as refuge’

• gatāḥ: having approached
• gatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having gone/approached’

• sarvajñena: by the omniscient one
• sarvajñena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarvajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; instrumental ‘by the omniscient (one)’

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablatival adverb) ‘then/thereupon/from that’

• devī-preritā: impelled by the Goddess
• devī-preritā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक) + preritā (कृदन्त, क्त from √prer)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘by the goddess’/‘of the goddess’ + PPP; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with (understood) śaktiḥ/senā etc.

• asura-mardane: in the demon-slaying (battle/act)
• asura-mardane: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asura (प्रातिपदिक) + mardana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भाव) ‘asura-slaying’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; locative ‘in/for the slaying of demons’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī Khaṇḍa narration typically Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas, their crowns dimmed and banners lowered, approach Maheśa in supplication; Śiva, tranquil and all-knowing, signals Devī to proceed against the asura.

Characters & Entities

• Vibudhāḥ (Devas)
• Maheśa (Śiva)
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma is threatened, refuge in Śiva and divine guidance restore order; surrender (śaraṇāgati) precedes protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative world; this verse emphasizes divine refuge rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the act highlighted is śaraṇāgati—taking refuge in Maheśa.