Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

अजानां कदनं दृष्ट्वा ततः स पृथिवीपतिः । स्वहस्ताद्यष्टिमुत्सृज्य जग्राह निशितायुधम्

Transliteration

ajānāṃ kadanaṃ dṛṣṭvā tataḥ sa pṛthivīpatiḥ | svahastādyaṣṭimutsṛjya jagrāha niśitāyudham

Translation

Voyant le massacre des innocents, le roi jeta le bâton qu’il tenait et saisit une arme vive et tranchante.

Word by Word

• अजानाम्: of the goats
• अजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कदनम्: slaughter/destruction
• कदनम्: Karma (Object of seeing/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘then/from there’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पृथिवीपतिः: the king
• पृथिवीपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पृथिवी-पति = lord of the earth), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्वहस्तात्: from his own hand
• स्वहस्तात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (स्व-हस्त = own hand), पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• यष्टिम्: staff/rod
• यष्टिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• उत्सृज्य: having thrown away
• उत्सृज्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + सृज् (धातु) → उत्सृज्य (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund), ‘having cast away’

• जग्राह: took/seized
• जग्राह: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• निशितायुधम्: a sharp weapon
• निशितायुधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशित (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (निशितम् आयुधम् = sharp weapon), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa to sages within Nāgarakhaṇḍa framing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king, seeing the slaughter, throws aside his staff and grips a sharp weapon, stepping forward as his retinue recoils.

Characters & Entities

• pṛthivīpati (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Righteous kingship (kṣātra-dharma) begins with protecting the helpless; moral outrage at adharma becomes a duty to act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow; the immediate line emphasizes dharmic action within the broader tīrtha-glorification narrative of Adhyāya 95.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna/dāna/japa) is stated here; it focuses on the dharmic response of a ruler.