Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

ततश्च पृष्ठभागं स समाश्रित्य त्रिलोकराट् । चिक्षेप वज्रमुद्दिश्य तद्वधार्थं समुत्सुकः

Transliteration

tataśca pṛṣṭhabhāgaṃ sa samāśritya trilokarāṭ | cikṣepa vajramuddiśya tadvadhārthaṃ samutsukaḥ

Translation

แล้วจอมราชันแห่งไตรโลก (อินทรา) ก็เข้าประจำด้านหลังของเขา และด้วยความมุ่งหมายจะสังหาร จึงขว้างวัชระออกไป

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'ततः' = 'thereupon/then'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• pṛṣṭha-bhāgam: the back part
• pṛṣṭha-bhāgam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पृष्ठस्य भागः)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• samāśritya: having taken refuge/approached
• samāśritya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; 'having resorted to/approached'

• triloka-rāṭ: the king of the three worlds
• triloka-rāṭ: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + rāṭ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रिलोकानां राट् = king of the three worlds)

• cikṣepa: threw
• cikṣepa: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; 'he threw/cast'

• vajram: the thunderbolt
• vajram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uddiśya: aiming at
• uddiśya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Purpose/aim)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-diś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; 'aiming at/with reference to'

• tad-vadha-artham: for the purpose of killing him
• tad-vadha-artham: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + vadha (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तस्य वधस्य अर्थः = for the purpose of his killing)

• samutsukaḥ: eager, intent
• samutsukaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-utsuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कर्तरि)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra positions himself behind the meditating Vṛtra and hurls the vajra with decisive force, the moment charged with both heroism and moral unease.

Characters & Entities

• Trilokarāṭ (Indra)
• Vajra
• Vṛtra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma-protection can require decisive action; the Purāṇic king-of-heaven acts with focused intent to remove a world-threatening obstacle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a tīrtha directly; it supports the chapter’s larger tīrtha-māhātmya by embedding a renowned dharma-restoring narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is martial/narrative (the casting of the vajra).