Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

यथायथा रणार्थाय सदुपायान्करोम्यहम् । तथातथा पराभूतिर्जायते मे महाहवे

Transliteration

yathāyathā raṇārthāya sadupāyānkaromyaham | tathātathā parābhūtirjāyate me mahāhave

Translation

यथायथा रणार्थं सदुपायान् करोम्यहम्, तथातथा महाहवे मे पराभूतिः पुनः पुनर्जायते।

Word by Word

• yathāyathā: as and as / whenever
• yathāyathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘as…as/whenever’)

• raṇa-arthāya: for battle
• raṇa-arthāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी (Dative, 4th), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः: ‘रणस्य अर्थः’ → ‘रणार्थ’ (for the sake of battle)

• sadupāyān: good strategies/means
• sadupāyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat + upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative, 2nd), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मधारयः: ‘सन्तः उपायाḥ’ (good means)

• karomi: I do / I employ
• karomi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tathātathā: so accordingly
• tathātathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘so and so / correspondingly’)

• parābhūtiḥ: defeat
• parābhūtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parābhūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• jāyate: arises / happens
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• me: to me / my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahāhave: in the great fight
• mahāhave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + āhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः: ‘महान् आहवः’ (great combat)

Speaker

Indra (Śakra), addressing Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra speaks with weary frustration, gesturing as if enumerating strategies; behind him, a dim battlefield memory—broken chariots and fallen standards—haunts the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Bṛhaspati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly effort alone may fail; lasting success requires alignment with higher dharma and the guidance of realized wisdom.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly mentioned in this verse; it functions as narrative preparation within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse focuses on the insufficiency of mere tactics without the right divine/dharmic means.