Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

एकविंशतिदा येन धरा निःक्षत्रिया कृता । क्षात्त्रतेजःप्रभावेन पितामहप्रसादतः

Transliteration

ekaviṃśatidā yena dharā niḥkṣatriyā kṛtā | kṣāttratejaḥprabhāvena pitāmahaprasādataḥ

Translation

அவரால் இருபத்தொன்று முறை பூமி ‘க்ஷத்திரியர் இன்றிய’தாக ஆக்கப்பட்டது—க்ஷாத்திரத் தேஜஸின் வலிமையாலும், பிதாமகனின் அருளாலும்।

Word by Word

• एकविंशतिदा: twenty-one times
• एकविंशतिदा: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकविंशति + दा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/आवृत्तिवाचक) — अव्ययीभावः (एकविंशतिः दा = one-and-twenty times)

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — करण (by whom)

• धरा: the earth
• धरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — कर्ता (the earth)

• निःक्षत्रिया: devoid of kṣatriyas
• निःक्षत्रिया: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः + क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — उपसर्गपूर्वक-तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रिय-रहितā); ‘धरा’ विशेषण

• कृता: was made
• कृता: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्धी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृत् (क्त) — ‘कृता’ (made)

• क्षात्त्रतेजःप्रभावेन: by the power of martial energy
• क्षात्त्रतेजःप्रभावेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षात्र + तेजस् + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः (क्षात्रं तेजः यस्य/क्षात्रतेजः; तस्य प्रभावः); करण (by the power of kṣatriya-like energy)

• पितामहप्रसादतः: due to the grace of the grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामहप्रसादतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पितामह + प्रसाद (प्रातिपदिक) + तः (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादानार्थक) — ‘-तः’ (from/due to); तत्पुरुषः (पितामहस्य प्रसादः)

Speaker

Narrator (within the ongoing Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma stands with axe, surrounded by subdued battlefield imagery rendered symbolically (not gory): broken weapons, humbled kings, and a cosmic backdrop suggesting repeated cycles (21) and ancestral blessing above.

Characters & Entities

• Paraśurāma
• kṣatriyas
• pitāmaha (forefather)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Force is legitimized only when framed as dharma-restoration and guided by ancestral/sage authority, not personal rage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya narrative arc in Nāgara Khaṇḍa, linking heroic history to sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it recounts a famed dharmic-historical act attributed to Paraśurāma.