Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

ततो दैत्यगणाः सर्वे हन्यमाना सुरारिणा । त्रातारं नाभ्यगच्छंत मृगाः सिंहार्दिता इव

Transliteration

tato daityagaṇāḥ sarve hanyamānā surāriṇā | trātāraṃ nābhyagacchaṃta mṛgāḥ siṃhārditā iva

Translation

ततः सर्वे दैत्यगणाः सुरारिणा हन्यमानाः त्रातारं नाभ्यगच्छन्—सिंहार्दितमृगा इव।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘ततः’ = ‘then/thereafter’

• daitya-gaṇāḥ: the groups of demons
• daitya-gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘दैत्यगणाः’ (group of demons)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘daitya-gaṇāḥ’)

• hanyamānāḥ: being killed
• hanyamānāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — ‘being slain’

• sura-ariṇā: by the enemy of the gods
• sura-ariṇā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — करणम्/हेतुः (by the enemy of the gods)

• trātāram: a protector, savior
• trātāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — कर्म (object sought/approached)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• abhyagacchan: they approached, they reached
• abhyagacchan: Kriyā (Verbal action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi + gam (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — ‘they approached’

• mṛgāḥ: deer
• mṛgāḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — उपमान (in simile)

• siṃha-arditāḥ: afflicted by lions
• siṃha-arditāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siṃha (प्रातिपदिक) + ardita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘ardita’ from √ard (पीडने) / ‘to afflict’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — ‘afflicted by lions’

• iva: like, as if
• iva: Upamā-dyotaka (Simile marker/उपमाद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-वाचक अव्यय (particle of comparison)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battlefield where daitya hosts scatter in terror, visually echoed by a herd of deer fleeing a lion; the ‘foe of the gods’ advances like an unstoppable force.

Characters & Entities

• Daityas
• Viṣṇu (implied as surāri)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma ultimately loses support and refuge; when divine justice moves, arrogance finds no shelter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of a larger tīrtha-māhātmya chapter; this line itself does not name the tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.