Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

अचलां सचलां सर्वां स चक्रे सुरघाततः । शिलोच्चयांश्च बहुशः शृंगाभ्यां सोक्षिपद्बली

Transliteration

acalāṃ sacalāṃ sarvāṃ sa cakre suraghātataḥ | śiloccayāṃśca bahuśaḥ śṛṃgābhyāṃ sokṣipadbalī

Translation

ผู้มีกำลังนั้นมุ่งหมายจะประหารเหล่าเทวะ ทำให้สรรพสิ่งทั้งนิ่งและไหวสั่นสะเทือน และยังใช้เขาทั้งสองขว้างกองศิลาซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า

Word by Word

• अचलाम्: immovable
• अचलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वाम् इति विशेषण-समुच्चय

• सचलाम्: movable
• सचलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वाम् इति विशेषण-समुच्चय

• सर्वाम्: the whole (earth)
• सर्वाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; (भूमिम्/पृथिवीम्) इति अध्याहार्य

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• चक्रे: made, caused
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• सुरघाततः: due to the slaying of the gods / by god-slaying
• सुरघाततः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सुर + घात (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्/तस्-प्रत्ययान्त) = 'from/through'; सुरघातः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सुराणां घातः)

• शिलोच्चयान्: heaps of rocks
• शिलोच्चयान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला + उच्चय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; शिलानाम् उच्चयाः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• बहुशः: many times, repeatedly
• बहुशः: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारः: क्रियाविशेषण (frequency)

• शृङ्गाभ्याम्: with (his) two horns
• शृङ्गाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), द्विवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• उक्षिपत्: lifting, hurling
• उक्षिपत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + क्षिप् (धातु) → उक्षिपत् (शतृ-कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त; बली इति विशेषण/समनाधिकरण

• बली: the strong one
• बली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A colossal buffalo-asura charges, the earth quaking; with horned tosses he flings boulders repeatedly; devas recoil as trees and structures shudder.

Characters & Entities

• Daitya (buffalo-form adversary)
• Sura (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma destabilizes the world—both the ‘moving’ and the ‘unmoving’; divine order must confront such chaos.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the sacred theatre of this episode, underscoring its status as a protected dharma-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the asura’s violent assault.