Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यदि चैनं मया मुक्तं कुठारं च द्विजोत्तमाः । ग्रहीष्यति परः कश्चिन्मम वध्यो भविष्यति

Transliteration

yadi cainaṃ mayā muktaṃ kuṭhāraṃ ca dvijottamāḥ | grahīṣyati paraḥ kaścinmama vadhyo bhaviṣyati

Translation

(Paraśurāma nói:) “Hỡi các bậc Bà-la-môn tối thượng, nếu ta buông bỏ chiếc rìu này, ắt sẽ có kẻ khác nhặt lấy—và khi ấy, người ấy sẽ trở thành kẻ ta phải trừng phạt bằng cái chết.”

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle: “if”)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: “and”)

• एनम्: this (weapon)
• एनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: enad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• मुक्तम्: released, let go
• मुक्तम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √muc (मुच् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of enaṃ/kuṭhāram)

• कुठारम्: axe
• कुठारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṭhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of Brahmins
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (“best among twice-born”)

• ग्रहीष्यति: will seize/take
• ग्रहीष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• परः: another
• परः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of kaścit)

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite pronoun)

• मम: of me / my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• वध्यः: to be slain
• वध्यः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vadhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (predicate: “to be killed”)

• भविष्यति: will become / will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Paraśurāma (implied by first-person ‘mama’; responding to the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: kṣetravāsin sages (dvijottamāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma speaks with grave intensity, holding the axe but gesturing outward as if imagining another seizing it; sages listen, concerned, recognizing the ethical knot.

Characters & Entities

• Paraśurāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents a dharmic tension: fear that relinquishing power may enable others’ wrongdoing, pulling one back into violence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement occurs within the Adhyāya 94 tīrtha narrative of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa; the place’s sanctity is explained through this episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is an ethical argument about the consequences of abandoning a weapon.