Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

हतेषु षटसु पुत्रेषु देवक्युदरजन्मसु । कंसेन क्रूरमतिना निष्कृपेण द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

hateṣu ṣaṭasu putreṣu devakyudarajanmasu | kaṃsena krūramatinā niṣkṛpeṇa dvijottamāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! ദേവകിയുടെ ഉദരത്തിൽ ജനിച്ച ആറു പുത്രന്മാർ ക്രൂരമതി, നിർദയനായ കംസനാൽ വധിക്കപ്പെട്ടപ്പോൾ—

Word by Word

• हतेषु: when (they were) killed / among the killed
• हतेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √हन् (धातु) + क्त (past passive participle)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; (पुत्रेषु इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• षटसु: in the six
• षटसु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; संख्या-विशेषणम्

• पुत्रेषु: sons (in/among the sons)
• पुत्रेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन

• देवकी: Devakī
• देवकी: Sambandha (Genitive-relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; (समासपूर्वपद)

• उदर: womb/belly
• उदर: Sambandha (Genitive-relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; (समासमध्यपद)

• जन्मसु: in the births from Devakī’s womb
• जन्मसु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-समास (देवक्याः उदरे जन्मानि)

• कंसेन: by Kaṃsa
• कंसेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• क्रूरमतिना: of cruel mind
• क्रूरमतिना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक) + मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; कर्मधारय (क्रूरा मतिः यस्य)

• निष्कृपेण: merciless
• निष्कृपेण: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष्कृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः)

Speaker

Narrator addressing brāhmaṇas/sages (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mathurā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottama addressed in verse; broader ṛṣi audience implied

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After the sixth killing: Devakī’s exhausted grief; Vasudeva’s silent endurance; Kaṃsa’s hard, unpitying face; sages/‘dvijottama’ as narrative audience implied, framing the moral judgment.

Characters & Entities

• Devakī
• Kaṃsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mercilessness (niṣkṛpatā) is a mark of adharma; the Purāṇas frame such acts as spiritually ruinous and socially destructive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly named in this verse; it continues the avatāra narrative within Setu Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive narration.