Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

चक्रनालीकनाराचैस्तोमरैः खड्गमुद्गरैः । एवं न शक्यते हंतुं दानवो विविधायुधैः

Transliteration

cakranālīkanārācaistomaraiḥ khaḍgamudgaraiḥ | evaṃ na śakyate haṃtuṃ dānavo vividhāyudhaiḥ

Translation

چکر، تیر، لوہے کے نیزے، تومر، تلوار اور گُرز وغیرہ طرح طرح کے ہتھیاروں سے وار کے باوجود، اس دانَو کو اس طریقے سے قتل کرنا ممکن نہ تھا۔

Word by Word

• cakra: with discs (chakras)
• cakra: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• nālīka: with guns/tubes (nālīka weapons)
• nālīka: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nālīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• nārācaiḥ: with iron arrows/spears
• nārācaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• tomaraiḥ: with javelins
• tomaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tomara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• khaḍga: with swords
• khaḍga: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaḍga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• mudgaraiḥ: with maces/hammers
• mudgaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mudgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; manner-adverb (प्रकारवाचक)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय; negation particle

• śakyate: is possible / can be
• śakyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• hantum: to kill
• hantum: Karma (Object of ability/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्ययभाव; infinitive of purpose

• dānavaḥ: the demon
• dānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• vividhāyudhaiḥ: with various weapons
• vividhāyudhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक) + āyudha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (विविधानि आयुधानि); Instrumental plural

Speaker

Deductive (Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa speaking to sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense melee: the Dānava stands unfallen amid a storm of weapons—discus, arrows, darts, swords, and maces—each impact shown yet ineffective, emphasizing supernatural endurance.

Characters & Entities

• Dānava (likely Andhaka, by immediate context)
• weapons (cakra, nālīka, nārāca, tomara, khaḍga, mudgara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Material force alone cannot overcome certain forms of adharma; victory requires divine ordinance and the right dharmic means.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it is part of the chapter’s sacred narrative that undergirds the Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.