Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

अतिक्रूरतरा जाती राक्षसानां यतः स्मृता । विशेषाद्वरपुष्टानां जायतेऽत्र धरातले

Transliteration

atikrūratarā jātī rākṣasānāṃ yataḥ smṛtā | viśeṣādvarapuṣṭānāṃ jāyate'tra dharātale

Translation

ఎందుకంటే రాక్షసుల జాతి అత్యంత క్రూరమని స్మరించబడింది; ముఖ్యంగా వరప్రసాదాలతో బలపడినవారు ఈ భూమిపై జన్మిస్తారు.

Word by Word

• ati-krūra-tarā: more exceedingly cruel
• ati-krūra-tarā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + krūra (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (तरप्)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास/उपपद-समासभावः (‘अति क्रूरा’); तरप्-प्रत्यय (comparative); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; jātī इति विशेषण

• jātī: race, kind
• jātī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• rākṣasānām: of the Rākṣasas
• rākṣasānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), बहुवचन

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatas (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (because/for)

• smṛtā: is regarded/remembered
• smṛtā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त) → smṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; jātī इति विशेषण; कर्मणि-भावः ‘is considered/remembered’

• viśeṣāt: especially
• viśeṣāt: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभाव (ablatival adverb): ‘विशेषात्’ = especially

• vara-puṣṭānām: of those strengthened by boons
• vara-puṣṭānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣṭa (puṣ धातोः क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘वरैः पुष्टाः’/‘वर-पूष्ट’); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; rākṣasānām इत्यस्य विशेषण-सम्बन्धः

• jāyate: arises / is born
• jāyate: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here)

• dharātale: on the surface of the earth
• dharātale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘धरायाः तलम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Rāma (continuing reflective speech-context; speaker not explicitly marked in verse but consistent with adjacent first-person narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (contextual) māhātmya listener

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: shadowy rākṣasa figures emerging on earth, some radiant with boon-energy; sages/guardians stand vigilant.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasas
• Boons (vara)
• Earth (dharā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power amplified by boons becomes dangerous when ungoverned by dharma; vigilance and right counsel are necessary.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides moral-cosmic background within the Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a doctrinal observation about nature, power, and dharma.