Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

त्रिशूलेन ततो भिन्नः शक्तिभिः क्रोधमूर्च्छितः । हन्यमानस्तदा रक्षः प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा दिवं गतः

Transliteration

triśūlena tato bhinnaḥ śaktibhiḥ krodhamūrcchitaḥ | hanyamānastadā rakṣaḥ prāṇāṃstyaktvā divaṃ gataḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ആ രാക്ഷസൻ ത്രിശൂലത്തിൽ കുത്തേറ്റും ശക്തികളാൽ പ്രഹരിക്കപ്പെട്ടും, ക്രോധോന്മത്തനായി അടിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതിനിടയിൽ പ്രാണൻ വിട്ട് സ്വർഗത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി।

Word by Word

• त्रिशूलेन: by/with the trident
• त्रिशूलेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिशूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular (by/with the trident)

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: then/from there)

• भिन्नः: split; wounded; pierced
• भिन्नः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भिन्न (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past passive participle (kta), nominative singular masculine; agrees with रक्षः

• शक्तिभिः: by spears
• शक्तिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural (by spears/lances)

• क्रोधमूर्च्छितः: frenzied by anger
• क्रोधमूर्च्छितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रोध (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्च्छित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — तत्पुरुष-समास (क्रोधेन मूर्च्छितः); PPP (kta) used adjectivally; agrees with रक्षः

• हन्यमानः: being struck/killed
• हन्यमानः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हन्यमान (कृदन्त, शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Present passive participle (śānac), nominative singular masculine; agrees with रक्षः

• तदा: at that time
• तदा: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb: at that time)

• रक्षः: the demon (rakṣas)
• रक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter (rakṣas/demon)

• प्राणान्: his life-breaths
• प्राणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Accusative plural (life-breaths)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) → त्यक्त्वा (कृदन्त, त्वान्त)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-रूपकृदन्त (त्वान्त/gerund) — Absolutive: having abandoned

• दिवम्: to heaven
• दिवम्: Gati/Karma (Goal/गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्/द्यौस् (प्रातिपदिक: दिव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म/गति), एकवचन — Accusative singular (to heaven)

• गतः: went
• गतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Past participle (kta) used as finite sense: ‘went’; agrees with रक्षः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rākṣasa, body arched in fury, is pierced by a trident and struck by spears; as he falls, his life-breath departs upward toward the heavens, while the sacred forest and āśrama backdrop re-emerges in calm.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa
• Triśūla
• Śakti (spear)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma that attacks sacred life is ultimately destroyed; divine forces protect dharma and even the violent end becomes a karmic turning-point.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (the sacred forest) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa’s Dharmāraṇya section; the episode supports the site’s protective sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative description of the demon’s defeat.