Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

नागरोऽपि जनस्तत्र दृष्ट्वा चकितमानसः । चतुर्दशसहस्राणि दन्तिनां सृणिधारिणाम्

Transliteration

nāgaro'pi janastatra dṛṣṭvā cakitamānasaḥ | caturdaśasahasrāṇi dantināṃ sṛṇidhāriṇām

Translation

అక్కడ పట్టణవాసులూ అది చూసి ఆశ్చర్యచకితులయ్యారు—అంకుశధారులైన పద్నాలుగు వేల ఏనుగులు ఉన్నారు.

Word by Word

• nāgaraḥ: a townsman/citizen
• nāgaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• janaḥ: people/person
• janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having seen’

• cakita-mānasaḥ: with a startled mind
• cakita-mānasaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cakita (प्रातिपदिक) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय: चकितं मानसं यस्य; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• caturdaśa-sahasrāṇi: fourteen thousands
• caturdaśa-sahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्या) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (numerical): चतुर्दश सहस्राणि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• dantinām: of elephants/elephant-riders
• dantinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dantin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• sṛṇi-dhāriṇām: of those bearing sṛṇi-weapons
• sṛṇi-dhāriṇām: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sṛṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष: सृणिं धारयन्ति ये; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within Revā Khaṇḍa context; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A city street or gate: townspeople cluster on rooftops and balconies, eyes widened, as an immense elephant corps passes—fourteen thousand elephants with mahouts holding ankushas (goads).

Characters & Entities

• Nāgara-jana (townspeople)
• Elephants (dantin)
• Sṛṇi (goad)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Collective security depends on organized strength; awe is stirred when power is marshaled for protection and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears; the verse continues the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the scale of the king’s forces.