Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

म्रियन्ते वाजिनस्तस्य बृहन्तो वारणास्तथा । शत्रवः सर्वकाष्ठासु विग्रहार्थमुपस्थिताः

Transliteration

mriyante vājinastasya bṛhanto vāraṇāstathā | śatravaḥ sarvakāṣṭhāsu vigrahārthamupasthitāḥ

Translation

അവന്റെ കുതിരകൾ മരിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി; അതുപോലെ മഹത്തായ ആനകളും. ശത്രുക്കൾ എല്ലാ ദിക്കുകളിലും നിന്ന് യുദ്ധാർത്ഥം സന്നദ്ധരായി നിലകൊണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• म्रियन्ते: die
• म्रियन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• वाजिनः: horses
• वाजिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that (king)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• बृहन्तः: great/huge
• बृहन्तः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बृहन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणं ‘वारणाः’

• वारणाः: elephants
• वारणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तथा: also/likewise
• तथा: Connector/Adverbial
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक

• शत्रवः: enemies
• शत्रवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• सर्व-काष्ठासु: in all directions
• सर्व-काष्ठासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; ‘सर्वासु काष्ठासु’ इति तत्पुरुष (समाहार/निर्देश)

• विग्रह-अर्थम्: for battle/conflict
• विग्रह-अर्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (accusative of purpose)

• उपस्थिताः: present/arrived
• उपस्थिताः: Karta (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-√स्था (धातु) → उपस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, भूतकर्तरि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), ‘having arrived/present’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Royal stables in mourning: dead horses and fallen elephants; generals report enemies massing on every frontier; banners visible on distant horizons; the king’s court in alarm.

Characters & Entities

• horses (vājin)
• elephants (vāraṇa)
• enemies (śatru)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When a ruler’s fortune and protection decline, both internal strength (mounts, resources) and external security (borders) deteriorate—calling for dharmic correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this shloka; it describes the crisis that frames the tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse reports calamities and imminent conflict.