Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46
दैत्यो दुंदुभिनिर्ह्रादो दुष्टः प्रह्लादमातुलः । देवाः कथं सुजेयाः स्युरित्युपायमचिंतयत्
daityo duṃdubhinirhrādo duṣṭaḥ prahlādamātulaḥ | devāḥ kathaṃ sujeyāḥ syurityupāyamaciṃtayat
ਦੈਤ੍ਯ ਦੁੰਦੁਭਿਨਿਰ੍ਹ੍ਰਾਦ, ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਹਲਾਦ ਦਾ ਮਾਮਾ ਅਤੇ ਦੁਰਾਚਾਰੀ ਸੀ, ਇਹ ਸੋਚਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ—“ਦੇਵਤਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਸੁਖੇ ਹੀ ਜਿੱਤਿਆ ਜਾਵੇ?”
Skanda (narration to Agastya, inferred from Kāśīkhaṇḍa convention)
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame; not stated in the verse)
Scene: A formidable daitya, Duṃdubhinirhrāda, sits in a shadowed hall or forest-clearing, brows knit in calculation, imagining the defeat of the devas; distant silhouettes of sacrificial fires and celestial beings hint at what he targets.
FAQs
Adharma begins with strategizing against Dharma’s supports; vigilance is needed to protect sacred institutions.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework (Kāśī/Varanasi), though this specific line emphasizes cosmic strategy rather than naming a particular tīrtha.
None explicitly; the verse introduces a plot concerning how Devas might be weakened.