Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

अथ पश्यति विध्वस्तान्दानवान्बलदर्पितान् । भक्ष्यमाणास्तथैवान्यान्पलायनपरायणान्

Transliteration

atha paśyati vidhvastāndānavānbaladarpitān | bhakṣyamāṇāstathaivānyānpalāyanaparāyaṇān

Translation

अथ स बलदर्पितान् दानवान् विध्वस्तान् ददर्श; अन्यांश्च पलायनपरायणान् तथैव भक्ष्यमाणान् अपश्यत्।

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• vidhvastān: destroyed
• vidhvastān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√dhvaṃs (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• dānavān: Dānavas (demons)
• dānavān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• bala-darpitān: proud of their strength
• bala-darpitān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक) + darpita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dṛp)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास ('proud because of strength'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• bhakṣyamāṇāḥ: being devoured
• bhakṣyamāṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphasis)

• anyān: others
• anyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• palāyana-parāyaṇān: intent on fleeing
• palāyana-parāyaṇān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: palāyana (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास ('devoted to fleeing'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice within the Tīrthamāhātmya frame; specific speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Andhaka surveys the field: shattered Dānavas who once boasted of strength; others being devoured; survivors fleeing in terror—an image of pride collapsing into panic.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride in power is unstable; when adharma ripens, even the mighty become helpless and fearful.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha is not identifiable from this single verse; it belongs to the broader Tīrthamāhātmya setting of Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.