Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एवं देवा अपि क्षुण्णा मच्छरैर्ये महत्तराः । किं पुनर्मानवाः सुभ्रूः कृमिप्रायाः सुचंचलाः

Transliteration

evaṃ devā api kṣuṇṇā maccharairye mahattarāḥ | kiṃ punarmānavāḥ subhrūḥ kṛmiprāyāḥ sucaṃcalāḥ

Translation

یوں میرے تیروں سے بڑے بڑے دیوتا بھی پاش پاش ہو جاتے ہیں۔ پھر اے خوش ابرو! انسان تو کتنے ہی بڑھ کر—کیڑے جیسے اور فطرتاً بے ثبات—ہوں گے!

Word by Word

• evam: Thus
• evam: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• devāḥ: Gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• api: Even/Also
• api: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• kṣuṇṇāḥ: Crushed/Trampled/Hurt
• kṣuṇṇāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣud (धातु)
• Form: Past Passive Participle (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• mat-śaraiḥ: By my arrows
• mat-śaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat-śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• ye: Who
• ye: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• mahattarāḥ: Greater/Mightier
• mahattarāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahattara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Comparative, Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• kim: What
• kim: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative Particle

• punaḥ: Then/Again
• punaḥ: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• mānavāḥ: Humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• subhrūḥ: O beautiful-browed one
• subhrūḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhrū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative (Sambodhana), Singular (Visarga retained)

• kṛmi-prāyāḥ: Like worms/Worm-like
• kṛmi-prāyāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛmi-prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• su-caṃcalāḥ: Very unsteady/fickle
• su-caṃcalāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-cañcala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

Speaker

Kāma (Puṣpaśara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A proud archer-figure personifying Kāma boasts that even gods fall to his arrows, while addressing a fair-browed woman; the atmosphere is charged, confrontational, and seductive.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Deva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

If even the gods can be shaken by desire, humans must practice stronger self-restraint, devotion, and dharmic discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular site is named in this verse; it is a general admonition within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the implied practice is self-control (dama) and dharmic conduct.