Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

निहंति दुष्टसंघातान्महाबलपराक्रमा । वायुस्कंधानि सप्तापिश्रृणुयद्वत्स्थितान्यपि

Transliteration

nihaṃti duṣṭasaṃghātānmahābalaparākramā | vāyuskaṃdhāni saptāpiśrṛṇuyadvatsthitānyapi

Translation

Puissante en force et en vaillance, elle détruit les multitudes des méchants. Écoute maintenant aussi les sept « soutiens » du vent, et la manière dont ils sont établis.

Word by Word

• nihaṃti: slay, destroy
• nihaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-han (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — 'they slay' (or honorific plural)

• duṣṭa-saṃghātān: wicked hordes
• duṣṭa-saṃghātān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa + saṃghāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — accusative; समास: दुष्टानां संघाताः (assemblies of the wicked)

• mahā-bala-parākramā: of great strength and prowess
• mahā-bala-parākramā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + bala + parākrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — adjective (as epithet of devī); समास: महच्च बलं च पराक्रमश्च यस्याः (great strength and valor)

• vāyu-skaṃdhāni: wind-masses, gust-bodies
• vāyu-skaṃdhāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu + skaṃdha (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — nominative/accusative; समास: वायोः स्कन्धाः (masses/sections of wind)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — numeral adjective agreeing with स्कंधानि

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-कार) — 'also/even'

• śṛṇu: hear
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Injunction/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'hear!'

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — relative pronoun ('which/that')

• vat: like, as
• vat: Sambandha (Comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vat (अव्यय/तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमानवाचक) — 'like/as'

• sthitāni: standing, stationed
• sthitāni: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — 'standing/placed' (agreeing with vāyuskaṃdhāni)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-कार) — 'also/even'

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Devī, radiant and formidable, strikes down hordes of the wicked; the narration pivots to reveal seven colossal wind-supports positioned through the cosmos like invisible pillars.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (implied)
• Vāyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine both protects by removing evil and sustains the cosmos through ordered principles such as the vāyu-skaṃdhas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the passage shifts into cosmological instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a doctrinal/cosmological teaching about the seven vāyu-skaṃdhas.