Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अस्त्रमोक्षविरामं त्वं ब्रह्मर्षे कुरु सत्वरम्

Transliteration

astramokṣavirāmaṃ tvaṃ brahmarṣe kuru satvaram

Translation

«Ô brahmarṣi, fais cesser sans tarder le déchaînement des armes.»

Word by Word

• अस्त्रमोक्षविरामम्: cessation of the weapon-discharge
• अस्त्रमोक्षविरामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + virāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (astra-mokṣasya virāmaḥ = cessation of weapon-release)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ब्रह्मर्षे: O brahmarṣi
• ब्रह्मर्षे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmarṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• कुरु: do, make
• कुरु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• सत्वरम्: quickly, at once
• सत्वरम्: Prakāra (Manner adjunct/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvara (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-नपुंसक)
• Form: शीघ्रार्थक-अव्यय (adverb of speed)

Speaker

Brahmā (contextual continuation of brahmovāca)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viśvāmitra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A commanding figure (Brahmā) urges the brahmarṣi to halt the weapon-discharge immediately; the visual tension is the moment just before catastrophe is averted.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Viśvāmitra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest victory is restraint; stopping harm is greater than proving power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it functions as a moral directive within the tīrtha chapter’s narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an immediate directive to cease weapon-release.