Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ततो जघान विप्रेन्द्रान्राक्षसं भावमाश्रितः । यज्ञान्विध्वंसयामास मुनीनामाश्रमानपि

Transliteration

tato jaghāna viprendrānrākṣasaṃ bhāvamāśritaḥ | yajñānvidhvaṃsayāmāsa munīnāmāśramānapi

Translation

Kemudian, dengan mengambil sifat Rākṣasa, dia membunuh para brahmana yang terkemuka, memusnahkan pengorbanan suci dan bahkan pertapaan para resi.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• जघान: slew/killed
• जघान: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• विप्रेन्द्रान्: chief brahmins
• विप्रेन्द्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• राक्षसम्: demonic
• राक्षसम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); (भावम् इति विशेषण)

• भावम्: state/nature
• भावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• आश्रितः: having resorted to/assumed
• आश्रितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रि (धातु) उपसर्ग: आ + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (Past Active Participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• यज्ञान्: sacrifices
• यज्ञान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• विध्वंसयामास: destroyed/caused to be destroyed
• विध्वंसयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्वंस् (धातु) उपसर्ग: वि; (णिच्) ध्वंसय + आमास (सहायक-क्रिया)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect/परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); causative sense (णिच्)

• मुनीनाम्: of sages
• मुनीनाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive, 6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• आश्रमान्: hermitages
• आश्रमान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle; inclusion/emphasis)

Speaker

Sūta (implied continuation of narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The rakṣasa-king rampages: brāhmaṇa elders struck down, sacrificial fires scattered, altars broken, sages’ hermitages destroyed—an image of dharma’s infrastructure collapsing.

Characters & Entities

• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• muni (sage)
• yajña (sacrifice)
• āśrama (hermitage)
• rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attacking sages and disrupting yajña is portrayed as grave adharma; dharma upholds sacred learning, worship, and protected spaces.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supplies moral background within the chapter’s tīrtha-mahātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse does not prescribe a rite; it condemns the destruction of yajña and āśrama as anti-dharmic.