Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

निश्वासात्सहसा नार्यः शस्त्रहस्ता भयानकाः । ताभिर्विध्वंसितं सैन्यं महिषस्य दुरात्मनः

Transliteration

niśvāsātsahasā nāryaḥ śastrahastā bhayānakāḥ | tābhirvidhvaṃsitaṃ sainyaṃ mahiṣasya durātmanaḥ

Translation

De son propre souffle, en un instant, jaillirent d’effrayantes femmes guerrières, armes en main ; et par elles l’armée du funeste Mahīṣa fut entièrement mise en pièces.

Word by Word

• निश्वासात्: from (her) breath
• निश्वासात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निश्वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• सहसा: suddenly
• सहसा: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• नार्यः: women
• नार्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• शस्त्रहस्ताः: having weapons in hand
• शस्त्रहस्ताः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शस्त्रहस्त (प्रातिपदिक: शस्त्र + हस्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नार्यः)

• भयानकाः: terrifying
• भयानकाः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयानक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नार्यः)

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

• विध्वंसितम्: destroyed
• विध्वंसितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+ध्वंस् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘सैन्यम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• सैन्यम्: army
• सैन्यम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• महिषस्य: of Mahiṣa
• महिषस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महिष (प्रातिपदिक; दैत्य-नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• दुरात्मनः: of the wicked-souled one
• दुरात्मनः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक: दुर् + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; विशेषण (महिषस्य)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; traditionally Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed ‘devēśi’ indicates a divine queen/interlocutor in frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the maiden’s exhalation, countless fierce warrior-women (śastra-hastāḥ) erupt like a storm, surrounding and pulverizing Mahīṣa’s forces. The battlefield is charged with dust, clangor, and supernatural emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Mahīṣa (Mahīṣāsura)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devī’s śakti is effortless and immediate—dharma is protected not merely by human strength but by divine power responding to adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a sacred landscape where divine interventions and victories become part of the site’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a battlefield narration highlighting Devī’s protective power.