Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

जघान वासुदेवोपि तरसाऽज्ञातवेदनम् । ततः खट्वांगमादाय गदाहस्तं गदाधरम्

Transliteration

jaghāna vāsudevopi tarasā'jñātavedanam | tataḥ khaṭvāṃgamādāya gadāhastaṃ gadādharam

Translation

Alors Vāsudeva, lui aussi, abattit Ajñātavedana avec une vitesse fulgurante. Puis, saisissant le bâton khaṭvāṅga, il se jeta sur Gadādhara, le porteur de la massue.

Word by Word

• जघान: struck/killed
• जघान: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• वासुदेवः: Vāsudeva
• वासुदेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम् (singular)

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

• तरसा: swiftly, with force
• तरसा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental singular used adverbially)

• अज्ञातवेदनम्: one whose pain was not known / insensible
• अज्ञातवेदनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज्ञात-वेदन (प्रातिपदिक; अज्ञात + वेदन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/क्रमवाचक (then/thereupon)

• खट्वाङ्गम्: a club/mace (khaṭvāṅga)
• खट्वाङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खट्वाङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• आदाय: having taken
• आदाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (having taken)

• गदाहस्तम्: with a mace in hand
• गदाहस्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गदा-हस्त (प्रातिपदिक; गदा + हस्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

• गदाधरम्: the mace-bearer
• गदाधरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा-धर (प्रातिपदिक; गदा + धर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rapid duel: Vāsudeva strikes down Ajñātavedana, then snatches a khaṭvāṅga staff and rushes the mace-bearing Gadādhara; dust, flying cloth, and weapon arcs dominate the frame.

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva
• Ajñātavedana
• Gadādhara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine heroes act within dharma’s theatre; power is shown, yet it is ultimately restrained by higher devotion and cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī), the supreme Śaiva sacred field celebrated throughout the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a narrative segment within the Kāśī Māhātmya context.