Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

तन्नूनं वज्रघातेन चूर्णयिष्यामि ते शिरः । तस्यास्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा तापस्यथ ततो द्विजाः

Transliteration

tannūnaṃ vajraghātena cūrṇayiṣyāmi te śiraḥ | tasyāstadvacanaṃ śrutvā tāpasyatha tato dvijāḥ

Translation

ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿಯೂ ವಜ್ರಾಯುಧದ ಹೊಡೆತದಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನ ತಲೆಯನ್ನು ಪುಡಿಪುಡಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಎಲೈ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರೇ! ಅವಳ ಆ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಆ ತಪಸ್ವಿಯು ಆಗ...

Word by Word

• tat: then
• tat: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तदिति अव्यय-प्रयोग (emphatic particle: then/that)

• nūnam: surely
• nūnam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nūnam (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (adverb: surely)

• vajra-ghātena: with a thunderbolt-strike
• vajra-ghātena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + ghāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (वज्रस्य घातः)

• cūrṇayiṣyāmi: I will pulverize
• cūrṇayiṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √cūrṇ (चूर्णीकरणे; नामधातु/धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘vacanam’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• vacanam: speech/words
• vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √śru (श्रु श्रवणे) (धातु) → śrutvā
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• tāpasi: the ascetic
• tāpasi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapasvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय (conj./particle: then/now)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: ततः-इति अव्यय (adverb: thereafter/from there)

• dvijāḥ: Brahmins (twice-born)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Śrīdevī/Śacī (threatening); narrator addresses dvijāḥ

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the tapasvī; secondary audience: dvijas (twice-born) within the narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Goddess, angered, threatens to crush the ascetic’s head with a vajra-blow; the ascetic reacts, and the narrator addresses ‘dvijāḥ’ as the story turns—dramatic pause before the next action.

Characters & Entities

• Vajra
• Dvitīyajanma (dvijāḥ)
• Ascetic (tāpasa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual narratives often show how anger and pride lead to violence, while the righteous are tested under threat.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it continues a tīrtha-māhātmya storyline in Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is narrative and transitional.