Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

नानाशस्त्रधरा रौद्रा यमदूता यथा च ते । पुलिन्दा बर्बराभीराः किराता यवनाः शकाः

Transliteration

nānāśastradharā raudrā yamadūtā yathā ca te | pulindā barbarābhīrāḥ kirātā yavanāḥ śakāḥ

Translation

ନାନାପ୍ରକାର ଶସ୍ତ୍ରଧାରୀ, ଯମଦୂତଙ୍କ ପରି ଭୟଙ୍କର ହୋଇ ସେମାନେ ପ୍ରକଟ ହେଲେ—ପୁଲିନ୍ଦ, ବର୍ବର, ଆଭୀର, କିରାତ, ଯବନ ଓ ଶକ।

Word by Word

• nānā-śastra-dharāḥ: bearing various weapons
• nānā-śastra-dharāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + śastra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (धृ धातु, अच्-प्रत्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण; समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (नानाविधानि शस्त्राणि धारयन्ति = bearing various weapons)

• raudrāḥ: fierce
• raudrāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• yama-dūtāḥ: messengers of Yama
• yama-dūtāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक) + dūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (यमस्य दूताः)

• yathā: like, as
• yathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (as/like)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• pulindāḥ: Pulindas (tribe)
• pulindāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulinda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• barbara-ābhīrāḥ: Barbaras and Ābhīras
• barbara-ābhīrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: barbara (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (barbaras and ābhīras)

• kirātāḥ: Kirātas
• kirātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kirāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• yavanāḥ: Yavanas
• yavanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yavana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• śakāḥ: Śakas
• śakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king addressed as ‘mahārāja’ (likely Janamejaya in Purāṇic frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sudden, fearsome host appears—tribal and foreign warrior groups with varied weapons—likened to Yama’s messengers, surrounding the scene with a supernatural dread.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadūtas
• Pulinda
• Barbara
• Ābhīra
• Kirāta
• Yavana
• Śaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma provokes formidable counterforces: the Purāṇas depict dharma’s protection as overwhelming and many-formed when sacred order is attacked.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha name is given in this verse; it remains within the chapter’s broader sacred-geography discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.