Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

स चापि बाष्कलिस्तेन च्छिन्नश्चक्रेण कृत्स्नशः । पपात धरणीपृष्ठे वज्राहत इवाचलः

Transliteration

sa cāpi bāṣkalistena cchinnaścakreṇa kṛtsnaśaḥ | papāta dharaṇīpṛṣṭhe vajrāhata ivācalaḥ

Translation

اور باشکلی بھی اُس چکر سے پوری طرح کٹ گیا؛ وہ زمین کی پشت پر یوں گرا جیسے بجلی (وَجر) سے مارا ہوا پہاڑ۔

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• bāṣkaliḥ: Bāṣkali (a Dānava)
• bāṣkaliḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāṣkali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• tena: by him/with that
• tena: Karaṇa/Sahakāraka (करण/सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• chinnaḥ: cut down, severed
• chinnaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chinna (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √chid ‘छिद्’ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• cakreṇa: with the discus
• cakreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• kṛtsnaśaḥ: completely
• kṛtsnaśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛtsnaśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pat (पत्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭhe: on the surface of the earth
• dharaṇī-pṛṣṭhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharaṇyāḥ pṛṣṭhe)

• vajra-āhataḥ: struck by a thunderbolt
• vajra-āhataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + āhata (कृदन्त; √han ‘हन्’ (धातु) + आ- (उपसर्ग) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (vajreṇa āhataḥ = ‘struck by thunderbolt’)

• iva: like, as if
• iva: Upamāna-marker (उपमान-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• acalaḥ: a mountain
• acalaḥ: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bāṣkali, severed by the spinning cakra, collapses onto the earth with the weight and inevitability of a thunderbolt-struck mountain; the ground cracks, dust rises, devas watch in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Bāṣkali
• Sudarśana Cakra
• Vajra (thunderbolt, as simile)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Arrogant power collapses when confronted with dharma’s divine force; downfall is sudden and decisive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it remains part of the broader Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes the defeat of Bāṣkali.