Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

अथ भग्नं बलं दृष्ट्वा वध्यमानं समंततः । पुलिन्दैर्दारुणाकारैः प्रोचुस्तं मन्त्रिणो नृपम्

Transliteration

atha bhagnaṃ balaṃ dṛṣṭvā vadhyamānaṃ samaṃtataḥ | pulindairdāruṇākāraiḥ procustaṃ mantriṇo nṛpam

Translation

Alors, voyant l’armée brisée et massacrée de toutes parts par les Pulindas à l’aspect effrayant, les ministres s’adressèrent au roi.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then)

• bhagnam: broken, routed
• bhagnam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhañj भञ्ज्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; बलम्-विशेषण

• balam: army, force
• balam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Sambandha (Gerundial link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकाल (having seen)

• vadhyamānam: being slain
• vadhyamānam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vadhya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √vadh वध्)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्/मान), कर्मणि-प्रयोग; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; बलम्-विशेषण

• samantataḥ: on all sides
• samantataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (on all sides)

• pulindaiḥ: by the Pulindas (tribesmen)
• pulindaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulinda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• dāruṇa-ākāraiḥ: of fierce appearance
• dāruṇa-ākāraiḥ: Karana (Qualifier/करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास; पुलिन्दैः-विशेषण

• procuḥ: said, spoke
• procuḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mantriṇaḥ: ministers
• mantriṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• nṛpam: the king
• nṛpam: Karma (Addressee/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; संबोधनार्थे कर्म (addressed object)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ministers, anxious yet composed, approach a king amid chaos: soldiers falling, Pulinda warriors pressing from all sides, the king’s chariot surrounded, dust and blood in the air.

Characters & Entities

• Pulinda
• Ministers (Mantrin)
• King (Haihaya ruler, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When wrongdoing brings ruin, wise counsel urges retreat and correction rather than stubborn escalation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this particular verse; it remains within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.