Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एतद्दिनात्सप्तमेऽह्नि तक्षकेण महाहिना । दष्टो विषाग्निना दग्धो भूयादाश्वभिमन्युजः

Transliteration

etaddinātsaptame'hni takṣakeṇa mahāhinā | daṣṭo viṣāgninā dagdho bhūyādāśvabhimanyujaḥ

Translation

ഇന്നുമുതൽ ഏഴാം ദിവസം മഹാസർപ്പമായ തക്ഷകന്റെ ദംശനാൽ അഭിമന്യുവിന്റെ പുത്രൻ വിഷാഗ്നിയിൽ ദഗ്ധനാകട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• etat-dināt: from this day
• etat-dināt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (एतत् दिनम्) + पञ्चमी (दिनात्)

• saptame: on the seventh
• saptame: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण

• ahni: day
• ahni: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• takṣakeṇa: by Takṣaka
• takṣakeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: takṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• mahāhinā: by the great serpent
• mahāhinā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (उपसर्गवत्/प्रातिपदिक) + ahi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् अहिः)

• daṣṭaḥ: bitten
• daṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daṣṭa (कृदन्त; √daṃś (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (bitten)

• viṣāgninā: by the fire of poison
• viṣāgninā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (विषस्य अग्निः = poison-fire)

• dagdhaḥ: burnt
• dagdhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dagdha (कृदन्त; √dah (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (burnt)

• bhūyāt: may become / shall be
• bhūyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु) विधिलिङ्
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative/benedictive sense), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āśva-abhimanyu-jaḥ: the son of Abhimanyu (Parīkṣit)
• āśva-abhimanyu-jaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśva (प्रातिपदिक) + abhimanyu (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अभिमन्योः जः = born of Abhimanyu) + उपाधि-विशेषण (आश्वः)

Speaker

Śṛṅgī (curse formula; deduced from preceding verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor sages/pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śṛṅgī’s curse visualized as a spoken decree: a spectral Takṣaka appears in imagination, venom blazing like fire; the number seven is symbolically present (seven suns/lamps/days).

Characters & Entities

• Takṣaka
• Abhimanyu
• Parīkṣit

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives stress that harmful speech and anger can set irreversible karmic outcomes in motion; dharma calls for humility and self-control.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is a pivotal event within the Setukhaṇḍa’s broader sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a curse pronouncement with a fixed time-frame.