Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

हन्यतामस्त्रमेतद्धिमम वाक्यादसंशयम् । ततस्तेन हतं तच्च ब्रह्मास्त्रं तत्समुद्भवम्

Transliteration

hanyatāmastrametaddhimama vākyādasaṃśayam | tatastena hataṃ tacca brahmāstraṃ tatsamudbhavam

Translation

അദ്ദേഹം പറഞ്ഞു—“ഈ ആയുധം നിശ്ചയമായി നശിക്കട്ടെ; എന്റെ വാക്കാൽ സംശയമില്ല।” അപ്പോൾ ആ വാക്ശക്തിയാൽ ആ ബ്രഹ്മാസ്ത്രവും അതിൽ നിന്നുയർന്നതെല്ലാം നശിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• हन्यताम्: let (it) be destroyed
• हन्यताम्: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): "let it be slain"

• अस्त्रम्: weapon
• अस्त्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (qualifying अस्त्रम्)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतौ/निश्चयार्थ-निपात) = "indeed/for"

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वाक्यात्: from (my) word; by my command
• वाक्यात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• असंशयम्: undoubtedly
• असंशयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (क्रियाविशेषण) = "without doubt" (accusative used adverbially)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• तेन: by him/that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• हतम्: was slain; destroyed
• हतम्: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (refers to astra)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• ब्रह्मास्त्रम्: the brahmāstra
• ब्रह्मास्त्रम्: Apposition (Samanadhikarana/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here as apposition to तत् (nominative sense)

• तत्समुद्भवम्: arisen from that; produced thereby
• तत्समुद्भवम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: तस्मात् समुद्भवः = "arisen from that"; विशेषण (of brahmāstra)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in Tīrthamāhātmya context; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Vasiṣṭha’s utterance, the blazing Brahmāstra collapses inward and extinguishes; the sky clears, weapon-storm dissipates, and a calm radiance replaces the destructive glare.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmāstra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual speech aligned with dharma (vāk-śakti) can pacify even catastrophic forces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it supports the chapter’s larger tīrtha-centered narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on authoritative utterance and neutralization of astras.