Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

अष्टादशाहेन हता ये च द्रोणवृषादयः । दुर्योधने हते क्रूरे अष्टादशदिनात्यये

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśāhena hatā ye ca droṇavṛṣādayaḥ | duryodhane hate krūre aṣṭādaśadinātyaye

Translation

ద్రోణుడు, వృషుడు మొదలైనవారు అష్టాదశ దినములలోనే హతులయ్యారు. క్రూరుడైన దుర్యోధనుడు హతుడైనప్పుడు—అష్టాదశ దినముల ముగింపున—(యుద్ధం ముగిసింది).

Word by Word

• aṣṭādaśa-ahena: in/within eighteen days
• aṣṭādaśa-ahena: Karana (Instrument/Measure of time/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + aha (अहन्/अह, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—द्विगु (eighteen-day period)

• hatāḥ: slain
• hatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्, धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्, सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• droṇa-vṛṣa-ādayaḥ: Droṇa, Vṛṣa, and others
• droṇa-vṛṣa-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: droṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ādi = ‘and others’)

• duryodhane: when/with Duryodhana
• duryodhane: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duryodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• hate: slain
• hate: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्, धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध (locative absolute: ‘when slain’)

• krūre: cruel
• krūre: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); duryodhane (or hate) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• aṣṭādaśa-dina-atyaye: at the end of eighteen days
• aṣṭādaśa-dina-atyaye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + dina (प्रातिपदिक) + atyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (at the end of eighteen days)

Speaker

Narrator (deduced: Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta tradition in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic battlefield after prolonged fighting; fallen heroes like Droṇa; the final day’s grim culmination with Duryodhana’s fall; dusk-like tones conveying closure.

Characters & Entities

• Droṇa
• Vṛṣa
• Duryodhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power and fame are fleeting; even the mightiest fall swiftly when adharma ripens into its consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it summarizes the war’s duration and key deaths.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is prescribed here; the verse is historical-narrative in tone.