Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

कथायां कीर्त्यमानायां ये गच्छंत्यन्यतो नराः । भोगांतरे प्रणश्यंति तेषां दाराश्च संपदः

Transliteration

kathāyāṃ kīrtyamānāyāṃ ye gacchaṃtyanyato narāḥ | bhogāṃtare praṇaśyaṃti teṣāṃ dārāśca saṃpadaḥ

Translation

إذا كانت الموعظة المقدّسة تُتلى، فالرجال الذين ينهضون ويذهبون إلى غيرها—وسط لذّاتهم—تؤول زوجاتهم وأموالهم إلى الخراب.

Word by Word

• कथायाम्: in the discourse
• कथायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• कीर्त्यमानायाम्: while being recited/mentioned
• कीर्त्यमानायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कीर्त्यमान (कृदन्त; कर्मणि वर्तमानकृदन्त/प्र.प.प.; √कीर्त्/√कृत् ‘to praise/mention’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि कृदन्तः; विशेषण (of कथायाम्)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• गच्छन्ति: go away
• गच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present indicative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अन्यतः: elsewhere/away
• अन्यतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यतः (अव्यय; अन्य + तस्)
• Form: अव्यय, दिशावाचक/अपादानार्थक (adverb: ‘elsewhere/from another place’)

• नराः: men
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्ता

• भोगान्तरे: in another enjoyment/at another time of enjoyment
• भोगान्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोग (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• प्रणश्यन्ति: perish/are destroyed
• प्रणश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present indicative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध

• दाराः: wives
• दाराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दार (प्रातिपदिक; pluralia tantum)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्तृस्थानी (subject of implied ‘perish’)

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

• संपदः: wealth/prosperities
• संपदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्पद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्तृस्थानी (subject of implied ‘perish’)

Speaker

Narratorial Purāṇic voice (context not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mid-discourse, a few men rise and depart toward worldly amusements; behind them, their household fortune symbolically fades—wife distressed, wealth chests emptying—while the kathā-sabhā remains luminous.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Leaving sacred discourse out of restlessness or worldly pull is treated as a serious lapse, leading to loss of stability and prosperity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse addresses conduct during kathā rather than a particular sacred location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A behavioral injunction: do not abandon the ongoing kathā and wander elsewhere while it is being recited.