Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

ततो भुजवनं तस्य रामः शस्त्रभृतां वरः । मुहुर्मुहुर्विनिर्भर्त्स्य प्रचकर्त शनैःशनैः

Transliteration

tato bhujavanaṃ tasya rāmaḥ śastrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | muhurmuhurvinirbhartsya pracakarta śanaiḥśanaiḥ

Translation

ତାପରେ ଶସ୍ତ୍ରଧାରୀମାନଙ୍କ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠ ରାମ ତାକୁ ପୁନଃପୁନଃ ଭର୍ତ୍ସନା କରି, ତାହାର ଭୁଜ ‘ବନ’କୁ ଧୀରେ ଧୀରେ କାଟିବାକୁ ଆରମ୍ଭ କଲେ।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक

• bhujavanam: the mass of his arms
• bhujavanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuja (प्रातिपदिक) + vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भुजानां वनम् = thicket/mass of arms)

• tasya: of him / his
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• rāmaḥ: Rama
• rāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• śastra-bhṛtām: of weapon-bearers
• śastra-bhṛtām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhṛt (√bhṛ, कृत्-प्रत्यय; भृत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (शस्त्रं बिभ्रति ये)

• varaḥ: the best
• varaḥ: Visheshya (Apposition/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता-सम्बन्ध/उपपद), एकवचन; विशेष्य (रामाḥ)

• muhuḥ: again and again
• muhuḥ: Sambandha (Frequency/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), पुनःपुनरर्थक

• muhuḥ: repeatedly
• muhuḥ: Sambandha (Frequency/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), पुनरुक्त्या आवृत्तिः

• vinirbhartsya: having rebuked
• vinirbhartsya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-nir-√bharts (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• pracakarta: cut off / did (i.e., severed)
• pracakarta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• śanaiḥ: slowly
• śanaiḥ: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), मन्दगत्यर्थक

• śanaiḥ: gradually
• śanaiḥ: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), पुनरुक्त्या क्रमशः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta continuing the account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma advances, rebuking again and again, then slowly fells the opponent’s many arms like trees—measured strokes, severed limbs falling like branches.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Haihaya lord

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma narratives depict the curbing of tyrannical power; arrogance is ‘pruned’ when it violates righteousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The action unfolds within the Tīrthamāhātmya framework tied to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and its ancestral rites context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not in this verse; it remains narrative, preparing for later directions involving blood placed in a ritual pit.