Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

चक्रनालीकनाराचैस्तोमरैः खड्गमुद्गरैः । एवं न शक्यते हंतुं दानवो विविधायुधैः

Transliteration

cakranālīkanārācaistomaraiḥ khaḍgamudgaraiḥ | evaṃ na śakyate haṃtuṃ dānavo vividhāyudhaiḥ

Translation

ചക്രം, ബാണങ്ങൾ, ഇരുമ്പുശൂലങ്ങൾ, ഖഡ്ഗം, മുദ്ഗരം മുതലായ പലവിധ ആയുധങ്ങളാൽ പ്രഹരിച്ചിട്ടും ആ ദാനവനെ ഇങ്ങനെ വധിക്കുവാൻ സാധ്യമായില്ല।

Word by Word

• cakra: with discs (chakras)
• cakra: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• nālīka: with guns/tubes (nālīka weapons)
• nālīka: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nālīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• nārācaiḥ: with iron arrows/spears
• nārācaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• tomaraiḥ: with javelins
• tomaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tomara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• khaḍga: with swords
• khaḍga: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaḍga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• mudgaraiḥ: with maces/hammers
• mudgaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mudgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; manner-adverb (प्रकारवाचक)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय; negation particle

• śakyate: is possible / can be
• śakyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• hantum: to kill
• hantum: Karma (Object of ability/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्ययभाव; infinitive of purpose

• dānavaḥ: the demon
• dānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• vividhāyudhaiḥ: with various weapons
• vividhāyudhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक) + āyudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (विविधानि आयुधानि); Instrumental plural

Speaker

Deductive (Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa speaking to sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense melee: the Dānava stands unfallen amid a storm of weapons—discus, arrows, darts, swords, and maces—each impact shown yet ineffective, emphasizing supernatural endurance.

Characters & Entities

• Dānava (likely Andhaka, by immediate context)
• weapons (cakra, nālīka, nārāca, tomara, khaḍga, mudgara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Material force alone cannot overcome certain forms of adharma; victory requires divine ordinance and the right dharmic means.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it is part of the chapter’s sacred narrative that undergirds the Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.