Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

ततस्तार्क्ष्यरथः क्रुद्धस्त्वेकैकं रणमूर्धनि । सहस्रेणसहस्रेण बाणानां हृद्यताडयत्

Transliteration

tatastārkṣyarathaḥ kruddhastvekaikaṃ raṇamūrdhani | sahasreṇasahasreṇa bāṇānāṃ hṛdyatāḍayat

Translation

تب تارکشی رتھ پر سوار وہ غضبناک یودھا میدانِ جنگ کے اگلے حصے میں ایک ایک کو نشانہ بنا کر ہزاروں پر ہزاروں تیر اُن کے سینوں میں پیوست کرتا گیا۔

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय; तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

• तार्क्ष्यरथः: the one whose chariot is (with) Tārkṣya/Garuḍa
• तार्क्ष्यरथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तार्क्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक) + रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—तार्क्ष्यस्य रथः (गरुड-रथः/गरुडध्वजः)

• क्रुद्धः: angry
• क्रुद्धः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• एकैकम्: each one, one by one
• एकैकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः ‘one by one/each single’—क्रियाविशेषणवत्

• रणमूर्धनि: on the forefront of the battle
• रणमूर्धनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—रणस्य मूर्धनि (battlefield’s head/top)

• सहस्रेण: with a thousand
• सहस्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• सहस्रेण: with a thousand (upon thousand)
• सहस्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (intensification)

• बाणानाम्: of arrows
• बाणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• हृदि: in the heart/chest
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• अताडयत्: struck, beat
• अताडयत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तड् (धातु) (णिजन्त; ताडय-)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; causative stem ‘to strike’

Speaker

Narrator (Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration traditionally Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/pilgrims (frame audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu, enraged, rides Garuḍa like a chariot; from the battlefield’s crest he releases an impossible torrent—thousands upon thousands of arrows—each striking individual gaṇas at the chest, the air dense with shafts.

Characters & Entities

• Tārkṣya (Garuḍa)
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic conflicts in Purāṇas portray the irresistible force of divine agency; power is vast, yet ultimately subordinated to dharma’s resolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter belongs to Kāśī’s sacred corpus (Kāśīkhaṇḍa), but this verse is a martial narrative detail rather than a tīrtha praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.