Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

विषण्णवदनाः सर्वे भयभीता समंततः । धावतो भक्षितास्ताभिर्देवताभिः सुनिर्दयम्

Transliteration

viṣaṇṇavadanāḥ sarve bhayabhītā samaṃtataḥ | dhāvato bhakṣitāstābhirdevatābhiḥ sunirdayam

Translation

Tous, le visage abattu par le désespoir et saisis de peur de toutes parts, s’enfuirent; mais tandis qu’ils couraient, ces divinités les dévorèrent sans aucune pitié.

Word by Word

• विषण्णवदनाः: having dejected faces
• विषण्णवदनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषण्ण (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (विषण्णं वदनं येषाम्)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• भयभीताः: frightened with fear
• भयभीताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक) + भीत (कृदन्त; √भी (धातु) 'to fear')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष-समासः (भयेन भीताः)

• समन्ततः: on all sides
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• धावतः: running
• धावतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √धाव् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/वर्तमान-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया? (contextual) / प्रथमा?; बहुवचन; अर्थः ‘दौडन्तः/दौडतः’ (while running)

• भक्षिताः: were devoured
• भक्षिताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्षित (कृदन्त; √भक्ष् (धातु) 'to eat/devour')
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive participle)

• ताभिः: by those
• ताभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• देवताभिः: by the goddesses/divine beings
• देवताभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• सुनिर्दयम्: very mercilessly
• सुनिर्दयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + निर्दय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; specific speaker not stated in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (best of twice-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A terrified crowd fleeing in all directions, faces downcast; behind them fierce radiant devatās pursue and consume them, conveying inexorable divine retribution.

Characters & Entities

• Devatās

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma that terrorizes the world ultimately meets divine retribution; fear arises when one confronts the consequences of wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the excerpt does not name a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates the defeat of the hostile party.