Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

अथ पश्यति विध्वस्तान्दानवान्बलदर्पितान् । भक्ष्यमाणास्तथैवान्यान्पलायनपरायणान्

Transliteration

atha paśyati vidhvastāndānavānbaladarpitān | bhakṣyamāṇāstathaivānyānpalāyanaparāyaṇān

Translation

پھر اس نے دانوؤں کو دیکھا—جو کبھی قوت کے غرور میں مست تھے—ٹوٹ پھوٹ کر پڑے تھے؛ اور اس نے دوسروں کو بھی دیکھا جو بھاگنے ہی میں لگے تھے اور نگلے جا رہے تھے۔

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• vidhvastān: destroyed
• vidhvastān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√dhvaṃs (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• dānavān: Dānavas (demons)
• dānavān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• bala-darpitān: proud of their strength
• bala-darpitān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक) + darpita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dṛp)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास ('proud because of strength'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• bhakṣyamāṇāḥ: being devoured
• bhakṣyamāṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphasis)

• anyān: others
• anyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• palāyana-parāyaṇān: intent on fleeing
• palāyana-parāyaṇān: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: palāyana (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास ('devoted to fleeing'), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice within the Tīrthamāhātmya frame; specific speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Andhaka surveys the field: shattered Dānavas who once boasted of strength; others being devoured; survivors fleeing in terror—an image of pride collapsing into panic.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pride in power is unstable; when adharma ripens, even the mighty become helpless and fearful.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha is not identifiable from this single verse; it belongs to the broader Tīrthamāhātmya setting of Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.