Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

अजापालेन भूपेन तत्सर्वं विफलीकृतम् । तपःशक्त्या सुरश्रेष्ठ देवीमाराध्य चंडिकाम्

Transliteration

ajāpālena bhūpena tatsarvaṃ viphalīkṛtam | tapaḥśaktyā suraśreṣṭha devīmārādhya caṃḍikām

Translation

اے دیوتاؤں میں برتر! اجاپال نامی راجا نے وہ سب کچھ بے اثر کر دیا ہے؛ اس نے تپسیا کی قوت سے دیوی چنڈیکا کی آرادھنا کر کے انہیں راضی کیا۔

Word by Word

• ajāpālena: by Ajāpāla (name)
• ajāpālena: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ajāpāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhūpena: by the king
• bhūpena: Kartr (Agent apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object determiner/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular) — ‘that’ (agreeing with sarvam)

• sarvam: all (of it)
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• viphalīkṛtam: made futile; rendered fruitless
• viphalīkṛtam: Kriya (Result predicate/क्रिया-विशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + phalī + √kṛ (धातु) + क्त
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle) — नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः ‘made fruitless’

• tapaḥ-śaktyā: by the power of austerity
• tapaḥ-śaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘तपसः शक्तिः’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• suraśreṣṭha: O best of gods
• suraśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘सुराणां श्रेष्ठः’); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• devīm: the Goddess
• devīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ārādhya: having worshipped
• ārādhya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √rādh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive) — ‘having worshipped/propitiated’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Conjunction) — ‘and’

• caṇḍikām: Caṇḍikā
• caṇḍikām: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Yama (inferred from immediate narrative flow: Yama reporting to Brahmā; direct address 'suraśreṣṭha' fits a superior deity like Brahmā)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: King Ajāpāla in severe austerity before fierce Caṇḍikā—lion-associated, weapons and skull-garland iconography implied—radiant śakti emanating; in the distance, Yama’s staff and noose rendered powerless.

Characters & Entities

• Yama (Vaivasvata)
• Brahmā
• Ajāpāla
• Caṇḍikā (Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense tapas and sincere Devī-upāsanā can transform worldly conditions and even disrupt established cosmic administration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 95); the verse highlights a devotee-king and Caṇḍikā worship, but does not name the tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devī ārādhana (propitiation/worship) supported by tapas (austerity) is indicated as the efficacious practice.