Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

महाज्वालं महानादं महासुरविमर्दनम् । दृष्ट्वा सुदर्शनं विष्णो राक्षसोऽथ प्रदुद्रुवे

Transliteration

mahājvālaṃ mahānādaṃ mahāsuravimardanam | dṛṣṭvā sudarśanaṃ viṣṇo rākṣaso'tha pradudruve

Translation

വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ സുദർശനത്തെ—മഹാജ്വാലയോടെ, മഹാനാദത്തോടെ, മഹാസുരന്മാരെ മർദ്ദിക്കുന്നതായ—കണ്ട് ആ രാക്ഷസൻ ഭയത്തോടെ ഓടിപ്പോയി।

Word by Word

• महाज्वालम्: greatly flaming
• महाज्वालम्: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-ज्वाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः महती ज्वाला यस्य

• महानादम्: loud-roaring
• महानादम्: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-नाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः महान् नादः यस्य

• महासुरविमर्दनम्: crusher of great demons
• महासुरविमर्दनम्: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-असुर-विमर्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः महासुराणां विमर्दनम्

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive) — having seen

• सुदर्शनम्: Sudarśana (the discus)
• सुदर्शनम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः सुन्दरं दर्शनं यस्य (नाम)

• विष्णो: O Viṣṇu
• विष्णो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Vocative singular

• राक्षसः: the demon
• राक्षसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/कर्ता), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय — then

• प्रदुद्रुवे: fled/ran away
• प्रदुद्रुवे: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-द्रु (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect, 3rd person singular; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Sūta (narrator, deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmapuṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sudarśana, a roaring wheel of flame, dominates the scene; the rākṣasa recoils and runs away, looking back in panic; the devotee is safe at the tank bank, bathed in protective light.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Sudarśana
• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When divine protection manifests, adharma retreats; evil cannot stand before the Lord’s power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setukṣetra context, with Dharmapuṣkariṇī as the immediate sacred locale of the event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse highlights the fruit of devotion—deliverance from danger.