Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

यद्बाहुबलमाश्रित्य मया ध्वस्ता निशाचराः । सोऽयं निपतितः शेते मम भ्राता ह्यनाथवत् ।

Transliteration

yadbāhubalamāśritya mayā dhvastā niśācarāḥ | so'yaṃ nipatitaḥ śete mama bhrātā hyanāthavat |

Translation

جس کے بازو کی قوت کا سہارا لے کر میں نے رات میں پھرنے والے دشمنوں کو نیست و نابود کیا، وہی میرا بھائی آج گرا پڑا ہے، گویا بے یار و مددگار۔

Word by Word

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object of āśritya/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सम्बन्धे 'which' (qualifying bāhubalam)

• bāhu-balam: arm-strength
• bāhu-balam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) 'strength of (his) arms'

• āśritya: having relied on
• āśritya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Gerundial modifier/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive) — 'having resorted to/depending on'

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dhvastāḥ: were destroyed
• dhvastāḥ: Karma (Patient/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhvaṃs (धातु) → dhvasta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग — 'destroyed'

• niśācarāḥ: night-roamers (demons)
• niśācarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśācara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

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

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• nipatitaḥ: having fallen
• nipatitaḥ: Karta (Predicate qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-pat (धातु) → nipatita (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग — 'fallen down'

• śete: lies
• śete: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śī (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present/Indicative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — 'lies'

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhrātā: brother
• bhrātā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle) — 'indeed/for'

• anātha-vat: like an orphan/helplessly
• anātha-vat: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (मतुप्-सदृश प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverbial -vat) — manner 'like one without a protector'

Speaker

Rāma (Raghunandana)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (contextual) sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A heroic elder stands over a fallen younger brother, recalling past victories achieved through that brother’s arm-strength; the fallen figure lies ‘as if orphaned’.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa
• Niśācara (demons)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly strength and victory are transient; dharma calls one to recognize dependence, gratitude, and the inevitability of change.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it functions as narrative context within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly.