Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अस्त्रयुद्धं परित्यज्य बाहु युद्धमुपागतौ । करं करेण संगृह्य मुष्टिप्रहरणौ तदा

Transliteration

astrayuddhaṃ parityajya bāhu yuddhamupāgatau | karaṃ kareṇa saṃgṛhya muṣṭipraharaṇau tadā

Translation

ಅಸ್ತ್ರಯುದ್ಧವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಅವರು ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಬಾಹುಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದರು. ಕೈಯನ್ನು ಕೈಯಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು, ಆಗ ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಮುಷ್ಟಿಪ್ರಹಾರ ಮಾಡಿದರು।

Word by Word

• astrayuddham: weapon-fighting
• astrayuddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astra (प्रातिपदिक) + yuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अस्त्राणां युद्धम्); Accusative singular

• parityajya: having abandoned
• parityajya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकाल; having abandoned

• bāhu: arm (hand-to-hand)
• bāhu: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (as qualifier to yuddham)

• yuddham: fight
• yuddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• upāgatau: the two approached/engaged in
• upāgatau: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘they two having approached/entered’

• karam: hand
• karam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• kareṇa: with (his) hand
• kareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; Instrumental singular

• saṃgṛhya: having grasped
• saṃgṛhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-grah (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकाल; having seized/held

• muṣṭipraharaṇau: the two (became) fist-strikers
• muṣṭipraharaṇau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + praharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुष्ट्या प्रहरणम्); Nominative dual (as predicate/epithet of the two)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय; temporal adverb

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two combatants close the distance: weapons discarded, hands locked, torsos twisted; fists raised mid-strike, dust rising around their feet, onlookers blurred at the edges.

Characters & Entities

• Devēśa (Śiva/Sthāṇu)
• Dānava (Andhaka implied by context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even in fierce conflict, events unfold under divine order; the narrative frames strength and struggle as subordinate to dharma and the Lord’s will.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Tīrthamāhātmya stream in Nāgarakhaṇḍa; the immediate line is narrative and does not name a specific tīrtha in the snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it describes the combat sequence.