Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

भिंडिपाला गदाश्चैव खड्गाश्चैव परश्वधाः । बाणाः प्रासाः शतघ्न्यश्च शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः

Transliteration

bhiṃḍipālā gadāścaiva khaḍgāścaiva paraśvadhāḥ | bāṇāḥ prāsāḥ śataghnyaśca śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ

Translation

ทั้งภินฑิปาล กระบองและคทา ดาบและขวาน; ลูกศร หอก และศตฆนี (อาวุธเหล็ก) ก็ถูกขว้างออกเป็นร้อย ๆ แล้วเป็นพัน ๆ

Word by Word

• भिण्डिपालाः: bhindipāla weapons (a kind of missile/club)
• भिण्डिपालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिण्डिपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गदाः: maces
• गदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• एव: indeed; also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात) = emphatic particle "indeed/just"

• खड्गाः: swords
• खड्गाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• एव: indeed; also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात)

• परश्वधाः: axes
• परश्वधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परश्वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• बाणाः: arrows
• बाणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• प्रासाः: spears; darts
• प्रासाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• शतघ्न्यः: śataghnī weapons (lit. "hundred-slayer")
• शतघ्न्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतघ्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाणवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण) = distributive adverb "by hundreds"

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक-निपात) = "then/now"

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाणवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण) = "by thousands"

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in Tīrthamāhātmya context; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense rain of weapons—maces, swords, axes, arrows, spears, and śataghnīs—fills the air in layered waves, suggesting hundreds then thousands, like a metallic monsoon.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked aggression multiplies suffering; dharma requires mastery over force, especially when sacred realms are at stake.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but this specific line focuses on the battle imagery rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive of weaponry and escalation.