Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

तेन ते प्रमथाः सर्वे महाबलपराक्रमाः । शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थां प्रापिता वात्ययेव हि

Transliteration

tena te pramathāḥ sarve mahābalaparākramāḥ | śuṣkaparṇatṛṇāvasthāṃ prāpitā vātyayeva hi

Translation

അവനാൽ ആ മഹാബലപരാക്രമികളായ പ്രമഥന്മാർ എല്ലാവരും, പ്രചണ്ഡ ചുഴലിക്കാറ്റിൽ തകർന്നതുപോലെ, ഉണങ്ങിയ ഇലയും പുല്ലുതുണ്ടും പോലെയുള്ള അവസ്ഥയിലായി।

Word by Word

• तेन: by that (by him/it)
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (instrumental singular of pronoun)

• ते: to you / for you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-रूपम् (dative singular)

• प्रमथाः: the Pramathas (attendants)
• प्रमथाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (agreeing with प्रमथाः)

• महाबलपराक्रमाः: of great strength and valor
• महाबलपराक्रमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल + पराक्रम (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (महाबलश्च पराक्रमश्च यस्य/येषां ते) विशेषणम्

• शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थाम्: the condition of dry leaves and grass
• शुष्कपर्णतृणावस्थाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुष्क + पर्ण + तृण + अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक-समाहार)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शुष्कपर्णतृणानां अवस्था)

• प्रापिताः: were made to reach / were reduced to
• प्रापिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्रापित (कृदन्त, णिच्-प्रयोगे कर्मणि/हेतुमति)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (कर्मणि-प्रयोगे), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘प्रापित’ = caused to reach / made to become

• वात्यया: by a whirlwind
• वात्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात्यया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्ययम् (particle of comparison)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience / interlocutors within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A storm-like force scatters and flattens Śiva’s pramathas; bodies and banners tumble like dry leaves in a violent gust, dust and torn foliage swirling across a sacred battlefield.

Characters & Entities

• Pramathas
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly strength collapses instantly before divine will; humility and dharma are superior to mere force.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) Māhātmya, though this verse itself is part of a mythic episode rather than a direct tīrtha-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive, portraying the defeat of Śiva’s attendants.