Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । शृणु राजन्प्रवक्ष्यामि कर्णाटकविचेष्टितम् । देवानां दानवानां यो दुःसहो वीर्यदर्पितः

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | śṛṇu rājanpravakṣyāmi karṇāṭakaviceṣṭitam | devānāṃ dānavānāṃ yo duḥsaho vīryadarpitaḥ

Translation

Vyāsa thưa: “Hỡi Đại vương, hãy lắng nghe; nay ta sẽ thuật lại hành trạng của Karṇāṭaka—kẻ vì kiêu mạn sức lực của mình mà trở nên không thể chịu đựng đối với cả chư Thiên lẫn các Dānava.”

Word by Word

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• pravakṣyāmi: I will tell
• pravakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• karṇāṭaka-viceṣṭitam: the deeds of Karṇāṭaka
• karṇāṭaka-viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇāṭaka (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-कृदन्त from vi+ceṣṭ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• dānavānām: of the Dānavas
• dānavānām: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• duḥsahaḥ: unbearable/irresistible
• duḥsahaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥ-saha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• vīrya-darpitaḥ: proud of his strength
• vīrya-darpitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīrya (प्रातिपदिक) + darpita (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-कृदन्त from dṛp)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

Speaker

Vyāsa

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa begins narration to the king: a poised sage raising a hand in teaching gesture, the king attentive; in the background, a faint visionary tableau of a towering asura ‘Karṇāṭaka’ radiating arrogant power, troubling both devas and dānavas.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• King (Rājan)
• Karṇāṭaka
• Devas
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power (vīrya) becomes destructive when joined with pride (darpa); Purāṇic dharma repeatedly warns that arrogance makes one a burden even to great beings and invites downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is a narrative introduction and does not yet name a particular tīrtha; the Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa framework generally situates the account within the sacred forest (Dharmāraṇya) mahatmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it functions as a setup for the coming account (ākhyāna) rather than giving vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa instructions.