Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

विधिर्बलीयान्भुजगि चित्रं जयपराजये । क्रूरोपि विजयी क्वापि त्वक्रूरोपि पराजयी

Transliteration

vidhirbalīyānbhujagi citraṃ jayaparājaye | krūropi vijayī kvāpi tvakrūropi parājayī

Translation

ஓ நாககன்னியே, விதியே வலிமையானது; வெற்றி–தோல்வியின் விந்தை உண்மையிலே அதிசயம். சிலவேளை கொடியவனும் வெல்வான்; சிலவேளை கொடுமையற்றவனும் தோல்வியுறுவான்.

Word by Word

• vidhiḥ: fate; ordinance
• vidhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• balīyān: stronger
• balīyān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: balīyas (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (Comparative)

• bhujagi: O serpent-woman / O nāgī
• bhujagi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhujagī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• citram: wonderful; strange
• citram: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• jaya-parājaye: in victory and defeat
• jaya-parājaye: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक) + parājaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative)

• krūraḥ: cruel (one)
• krūraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थ (also/even)

• vijayī: victorious
• vijayī: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicate (state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vijayin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kvāpi: somewhere; sometimes
• kvāpi: Adhikaraṇa (Adverbial location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय) + api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), देशवाचक (somewhere/at times)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (adversative particle)

• akrūraḥ: not cruel; gentle
• akrūraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-प्रत्यय (negated)

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अपि-अर्थ (even/also)

• parājayī: defeated; losing
• parājayī: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicate (state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parājayin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice within Kāśī Khaṇḍa (deductively: Skanda in discourse to Agastya)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhujagī / nāgakanyā (as addressed in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A reflective utterance addressed to a serpent-maid: the cosmic balance of fate, with symbolic scales of victory and defeat; shadowy figures of the cruel triumphant and the gentle fallen.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It underscores daiva (destiny) as a powerful factor in worldly outcomes, urging humility and steadiness amid success or failure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, though this verse itself is a moral reflection rather than a site-description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a dharmic observation about the unpredictability of victory and defeat.