Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

आच्छिन्नं हि धनुर्वाणं छिन्नं सन्नहनं शरैः । असूदयिष्यमेतांस्तदभविष्यं यदीश्वरः

Transliteration

ācchinnaṃ hi dhanurvāṇaṃ chinnaṃ sannahanaṃ śaraiḥ | asūdayiṣyametāṃstadabhaviṣyaṃ yadīśvaraḥ

Translation

’میری کمان اور تیر چھین لیے گئے ہیں؛ میری زرہ ان کے تیروں سے ٹکڑے ٹکڑے ہو گئی ہے۔ میں انہیں مار ڈالتا—اگر خدا کی مرضی کچھ اور ہوتی۔‘

Word by Word

• आच्छिन्नम्: torn; cut off
• आच्छिन्नम्: Karma (Predicate of damaged object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + छिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘torn/cut off’ (predicate adjective)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/हेतु), particle ‘indeed/for’

• धनुः-वाणम्: bow and arrows
• धनुः-वाणम्: Karma (Affected item/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व (समाहार): ‘bow and arrows’ as a set

• छिन्नम्: cut
• छिन्नम्: Karma (Predicate of damaged object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सन्नहनम्: armour; equipment
• सन्नहनम्: Karma (Affected item/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्नहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘armour/gear; fastening’

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• असूदयिष्यम्: I will kill
• असूदयिष्यम्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: असूदय् (णिच् causative of सूद्/सूदय् ‘to kill’) (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; ‘I will kill’/‘I will cause to be slain’

• एतान्: these (men)
• एतान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Clause subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; pronoun used as clause-resumptive ‘that (would happen)’

• अभविष्यम्: would happen
• अभविष्यम्: Kriya (Hypothetical action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृङ् (Conditional/potential past), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; ‘would be/would happen’

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/निबन्ध), conditional particle ‘if’

• ईश्वरः: the Lord; God
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (narrating); quoted speech by the lone fighter/victim (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battered warrior stands amid broken bow and torn armor, looking upward in surrender; shafts embedded in shattered gear; behind, attackers recoil; a subtle, unseen divine presence suggested by light from above.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (the Lord)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human effort operates within Īśvara’s permission; recognizing divine will tempers pride and reframes defeat without despair.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is named; the theological tone aligns with the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader celebration of Lordship in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.