Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

स चापि बाष्कलिस्तेन च्छिन्नश्चक्रेण कृत्स्नशः । पपात धरणीपृष्ठे वज्राहत इवाचलः

Transliteration

sa cāpi bāṣkalistena cchinnaścakreṇa kṛtsnaśaḥ | papāta dharaṇīpṛṣṭhe vajrāhata ivācalaḥ

Translation

ਅਤੇ ਬਾਸ਼ਕਲੀ ਵੀ ਉਸ ਚਕ੍ਰ ਨਾਲ ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਕੱਟਿਆ ਗਿਆ; ਉਹ ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਠ ਉੱਤੇ ਇਉਂ ਡਿੱਗ ਪਿਆ ਜਿਵੇਂ ਵਜ੍ਰ ਨਾਲ ਮਾਰਿਆ ਪਹਾੜ।

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• bāṣkaliḥ: Bāṣkali (a Dānava)
• bāṣkaliḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāṣkali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• tena: by him/with that
• tena: Karaṇa/Sahakāraka (करण/सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• chinnaḥ: cut down, severed
• chinnaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chinna (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √chid ‘छिद्’ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• cakreṇa: with the discus
• cakreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• kṛtsnaśaḥ: completely
• kṛtsnaśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛtsnaśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pat (पत्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭhe: on the surface of the earth
• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharaṇyāḥ pṛṣṭhe)

• vajra-āhataḥ: struck by a thunderbolt
• vajra-āhataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + āhata (कृदन्त; √han ‘हन्’ (धातु) + आ- (उपसर्ग) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (vajreṇa āhataḥ = ‘struck by thunderbolt’)

• iva: like, as if
• iva: Upamāna-marker (उपमान-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• acalaḥ: a mountain
• acalaḥ: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bāṣkali, severed by the spinning cakra, collapses onto the earth with the weight and inevitability of a thunderbolt-struck mountain; the ground cracks, dust rises, devas watch in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Bāṣkali
• Sudarśana Cakra
• Vajra (thunderbolt, as simile)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Arrogant power collapses when confronted with dharma’s divine force; downfall is sudden and decisive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it remains part of the broader Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes the defeat of Bāṣkali.