Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

अष्टादशाहेन हता ये च द्रोणवृषादयः । दुर्योधने हते क्रूरे अष्टादशदिनात्यये

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśāhena hatā ye ca droṇavṛṣādayaḥ | duryodhane hate krūre aṣṭādaśadinātyaye

Translation

ਅਠਾਰਾਂ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਦ੍ਰੋਣ, ਵ੍ਰਿਸ਼ ਆਦਿ ਜਿਹੇ ਯੋਧੇ ਮਾਰੇ ਗਏ। ਅਤੇ ਕ੍ਰੂਰ ਦੁਰਯੋਧਨ ਦੇ ਮਾਰੇ ਜਾਣ ‘ਤੇ—ਅਠਾਰਾਂ ਦਿਨ ਪੂਰੇ ਹੋਣ ਨਾਲ—ਯੁੱਧ ਦਾ ਅੰਤ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ।

Word by Word

• aṣṭādaśa-ahena: in/within eighteen days
• aṣṭādaśa-ahena: Karana (Instrument/Measure of time/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + aha (अहन्/अह, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—द्विगु (eighteen-day period)

• hatāḥ: slain
• hatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्, धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• droṇa-vṛṣa-ādayaḥ: Droṇa, Vṛṣa, and others
• droṇa-vṛṣa-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: droṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ādi = ‘and others’)

• duryodhane: when/with Duryodhana
• duryodhane: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duryodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• hate: slain
• hate: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्, धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध (locative absolute: ‘when slain’)

• krūre: cruel
• krūre: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); duryodhane (or hate) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• aṣṭādaśa-dina-atyaye: at the end of eighteen days
• aṣṭādaśa-dina-atyaye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + dina (प्रातिपदिक) + atyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (at the end of eighteen days)

Speaker

Narrator (deduced: Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta tradition in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic battlefield after prolonged fighting; fallen heroes like Droṇa; the final day’s grim culmination with Duryodhana’s fall; dusk-like tones conveying closure.

Characters & Entities

• Droṇa
• Vṛṣa
• Duryodhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power and fame are fleeting; even the mightiest fall swiftly when adharma ripens into its consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it summarizes the war’s duration and key deaths.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is prescribed here; the verse is historical-narrative in tone.