Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ततस्तैर्दानवैः क्षुद्रैर्विष्णुद्वेषपरायणैः । अन्धकः स्थापितो राज्ये पितृपैतामहे तदा

Transliteration

tatastairdānavaiḥ kṣudrairviṣṇudveṣaparāyaṇaiḥ | andhakaḥ sthāpito rājye pitṛpaitāmahe tadā

Translation

അപ്പോൾ വിഷ്ണുദ്വേഷത്തിൽ പരായണരായ ആ ക്ഷുദ്ര ദാനവർ ആ സമയത്ത് പിതൃ–പൈതാമഹ രാജസിംഹാസനത്തിൽ അന്ധകനെ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb) — ‘then/thereupon’

• तैः: by them
• तैः: Kartṛkaraṇa (Agent/Instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘by them’

• दानवैः: by the Dānavas
• दानवैः: Kartṛkaraṇa (Agent/Instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘by the Dānavas’

• क्षुद्रैः: petty; base
• क्षुद्रैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — विशेषण of ‘दानवैः’ — ‘mean/petty’

• विष्णुद्वेषपरायणैः: intent on hatred of Viṣṇu
• विष्णुद्वेषपरायणैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वेष (प्रातिपदिक) + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘devoted to hatred of Viṣṇu’ (विष्णु-द्वेषे परायणाः)

• अन्धकः: Andhaka
• अन्धकः: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘Andhaka’

• स्थापितः: was installed; was established
• स्थापितः: Kriyā (Predicate as passive participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + णिच् (causative) → स्थापय् + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘was installed/established’

• राज्ये: in the kingdom
• राज्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘in the kingdom’

• पितृपैतामहे: in the ancestral (father’s and grandfather’s)
• पितृपैतामहे: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘राज्ये’/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + पैतामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘in the paternal-and-grandpaternal (ancestral) [kingdom]’

• तदा: at that time
• तदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time) — ‘at that time’

Speaker

Narrator of the Tīrthamāhātmya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A council of small, fierce Dānavas installs Andhaka on an ancestral throne; banners of asuras, shadowed court, ominous coronation rites.

Characters & Entities

• Dānavas
• Viṣṇu
• Andhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When leadership is chosen by those driven by hatred and adharma, kingship becomes a tool of hostility rather than protection of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it remains within the chapter’s narrative scaffolding.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a political installation (sthāpana) within the mythic narrative.