Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

अथ तेन समं वज्री चक्रेऽष्टादश संयुगान् । एकस्मिन्नपि नो लेभे विजयं द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

atha tena samaṃ vajrī cakre'ṣṭādaśa saṃyugān | ekasminnapi no lebhe vijayaṃ dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

Alors Vajrī (Indra), l’affrontant à forces égales, livra dix-huit combats entiers; pourtant, pas même une seule fois il n’obtint la victoire, ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक) — 'then/thereupon'

• तेन: with him
• तेन: Sahakaraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/सह — 'with him'

• समम्: together, equally
• समम्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'equally/together'

• वज्री: Indra (the thunderbolt-bearer)
• वज्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता — epithet of Indra ('wielder of the thunderbolt')

• चक्रे: fought/made
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'did/made'

• अष्टादश: eighteen
• अष्टादश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; (समासः द्विगुः) — 'eighteen' (qualifying संयुगान्)

• संयुगान्: battles
• संयुगान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्म — 'battles/encounters'

• एकस्मिन्: in one (even a single one)
• एकस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण — 'in even one (battle)'

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अप्यर्थक-निपात) — 'even/also'

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात) — negation

• लेभे: obtained
• लेभे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'obtained'

• विजयम्: victory
• विजयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा — 'O best of twice-born (Brahmins)'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing brāhmaṇas)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattamāḥ (addressed audience of brahmins/sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Vajrī) stands firm across multiple clashes—eighteen engagements suggested by repeated vignettes or a ring of battle-scenes—yet victory eludes him; sages addressed as witnesses (‘dvijasattamāḥ’).

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Vajrī)
• Vṛtra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power and pride do not guarantee victory; endurance in dharma is tested through repeated struggle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative setting; the specific tīrtha is not named in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative context (itihāsa-style) supporting the Māhātmya.