Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे तत्र हाहाकारो महानभूत् । भक्ष्यमाणेषु विप्रेषु राक्षसैर्बलवत्तरैः

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare tatra hāhākāro mahānabhūt | bhakṣyamāṇeṣu vipreṣu rākṣasairbalavattaraiḥ

Translation

À cet instant même, un grand cri de détresse s’éleva en ce lieu, tandis que les rākṣasas, plus puissants, se mirent à dévorer les sages brāhmaṇas.

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Singular)

• अन्तरे: in the interval, meanwhile
• अन्तरे: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘अन्तरे’ = in the interval/meanwhile

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place)

• हाहाकारः: a cry of distress
• हाहाकारः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• महान्: great
• महान्: कर्ता-विशेषण (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying)

• अभूत्: arose, happened
• अभूत्: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भक्ष्यमाणेषु: while (they were) being eaten
• भक्ष्यमाणेषु: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु) + यमाण (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; ‘being eaten’

• विप्रेषु: among the brāhmaṇas
• विप्रेषु: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• राक्षसैः: by the demons
• राक्षसैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• बलवत्तरैः: stronger, more powerful
• बलवत्तरैः: करण-विशेषण (Instrument qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलवत् (प्रातिपदिक) + तर (तुलनाप्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative) विशेषण

Speaker

Deductive (narratorial voice within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; explicit speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred grove or riverside hermitage erupts in panic; brāhmaṇa sages in white garments are seized by fierce rākṣasas; disciples cry out; sacrificial fires flicker amid chaos.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas (vipras)
• Rākṣasas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma is violated, collective anguish becomes the turning point that summons righteous protection and re-establishes sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter, but the tīrtha name is not stated in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the crisis during the yajña.