Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । शृणु राजन्प्रवक्ष्यामि कर्णाटकविचेष्टितम् । देवानां दानवानां यो दुःसहो वीर्यदर्पितः

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | śṛṇu rājanpravakṣyāmi karṇāṭakaviceṣṭitam | devānāṃ dānavānāṃ yo duḥsaho vīryadarpitaḥ

Translation

വ്യാസൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജാവേ, കേൾക്കുക; കർണാടകന്റെ വീരകൃത്യങ്ങൾ ഞാൻ വിവരിക്കുന്നു—സ്വശക്തിദർപ്പത്തിൽ ഉന്മത്തനായി ദേവന്മാർക്കും ദാനവന്മാർക്കും അസഹ്യനായവൻ।

Word by Word

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• pravakṣyāmi: I will tell
• pravakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• karṇāṭaka-viceṣṭitam: the deeds of Karṇāṭaka
• karṇāṭaka-viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇāṭaka (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-कृदन्त from vi+ceṣṭ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• dānavānām: of the Dānavas
• dānavānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• duḥsahaḥ: unbearable/irresistible
• duḥsahaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥ-saha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• vīrya-darpitaḥ: proud of his strength
• vīrya-darpitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīrya (प्रातिपदिक) + darpita (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-कृदन्त from dṛp)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

Speaker

Vyāsa

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa begins narration to the king: a poised sage raising a hand in teaching gesture, the king attentive; in the background, a faint visionary tableau of a towering asura ‘Karṇāṭaka’ radiating arrogant power, troubling both devas and dānavas.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• King (Rājan)
• Karṇāṭaka
• Devas
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power (vīrya) becomes destructive when joined with pride (darpa); Purāṇic dharma repeatedly warns that arrogance makes one a burden even to great beings and invites downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is a narrative introduction and does not yet name a particular tīrtha; the Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa framework generally situates the account within the sacred forest (Dharmāraṇya) mahatmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it functions as a setup for the coming account (ākhyāna) rather than giving vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa instructions.