Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ततो वर्षसहस्रांते दशमे समुपस्थिते । जितस्तेन सहस्राक्षः ससैन्यः सपरिग्रहः

Transliteration

tato varṣasahasrāṃte daśame samupasthite | jitastena sahasrākṣaḥ sasainyaḥ saparigrahaḥ

Translation

അനന്തരം പത്താം സഹസ്രവത്സരാന്ത്യം വന്നപ്പോൾ, അവനാൽ സഹസ്രാക്ഷനായ ഇന്ദ്രൻ സൈന്യത്തോടും സമസ്ത പരിവാരത്തോടും കൂടി പരാജിതനായി।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/देश-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: तस्मात्/ततः (thereafter/from there)

• varṣa-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand years
• varṣa-sahasra-ante: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वर्षाणां सहस्रस्य अन्ते) = at the end of a thousand years

• daśame: in the tenth
• daśame: Adhikarana (Time qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक; क्रमवाचक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (ante इत्यस्य) = in the tenth (year/period)

• samupasthite: when (it) had arrived / on its arrival
• samupasthite: Adhikarana (Time/State)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-upa-√sthā (स्था धातु) → upasthita (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) = ‘having arrived/being present’; सप्तमी-सम्बन्धः (locative absolute sense with ante/daśame)

• jitaḥ: defeated
• jitaḥ: Karma (Patient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √ji (जि धातु) → jita (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) = conquered/defeated

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम = by him/with that

• sahasra-akṣaḥ: Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• sahasra-akṣaḥ: Karma (Patient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः = ‘one who has a thousand eyes’ (इन्द्रः)

• sa-sainyaḥ: with (his) army
• sa-sainyaḥ: Karma (Qualifier of patient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/स- उपसर्गवत्) + sainya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (सैन्येन सह) = accompanied by (his) army

• sa-parigrahaḥ: with (his) retinue/possessions
• sa-parigrahaḥ: Karma (Qualifier of patient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/स-) + parigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (परिग्रहेण सह) = with possessions/retinue

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battlefield aftermath: Indra (Sahasrākṣa) defeated, withdrawing with disordered devas and broken standards; the sense of a cosmic turning point at the end of a long aeon-like period.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Sahasrākṣa)
• Bāṣkali (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the king of gods can fall when cosmic balance is disturbed—prompting reliance on the Supreme for restoration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Still within the lead-up to the Jalaśāyī tīrtha’s origin account; the tīrtha is contextual rather than explicitly named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates Indra’s defeat as a key plot development.