Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततः शुश्राव तापस्यश्चतस्रोऽत्र सुनिःस्पृहाः । वल्कलाजिनधारिण्यो न तस्याः पार्श्वमागताः । न चान्या भूषिता दृष्ट्वा चक्रुरीर्ष्यां कथंचन

Transliteration

tataḥ śuśrāva tāpasyaścatasro'tra suniḥspṛhāḥ | valkalājinadhāriṇyo na tasyāḥ pārśvamāgatāḥ | na cānyā bhūṣitā dṛṣṭvā cakrurīrṣyāṃ kathaṃcana

Translation

ثم سُمِع أنّ هنا أربعَ نسوةٍ زاهداتٍ لا رغبةَ لهنّ البتّة، يلبسن لحاءَ الشجر وجلودَ الظباء، لم يقتربن من جانبها. ولم تُبدِ النساءُ الأُخريات، وإن رأين بعضَهنّ متزيّنات، غيرةً على أيّ وجه.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: ‘ततः/then, thereafter’

• śuśrāva: heard
• śuśrāva: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tāpasyaḥ: female ascetics
• tāpasyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• catasraḥ: four
• catasraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catasṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = indeclinable adverb of place

• su-niḥspṛhāḥ: very desireless/without longing
• su-niḥspṛhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + niḥspṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; गुणवाचक विशेषण

• valkala-ajina-dhāriṇyaḥ: wearing bark-garments and deer-skins
• valkala-ajina-dhāriṇyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: valkala (प्रातिपदिक) + ajina (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘वल्कलम् अजिनं च धारयन्ती’

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pārśvam: side/nearby
• pārśvam: Karma (Object/goal with motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• āgatāḥ: came/approached
• āgatāḥ: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + gam (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (भूतकर्मणि/PPP), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘आगत’ = having come

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• anyāḥ: other (women)
• anyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bhūṣitāḥ: adorned
• bhūṣitāḥ: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhūṣ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्: क्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘भूषिता’ = adorned

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (अव्ययभाव/gerund), ‘दृष्ट्वा’ = having seen

• cakruḥ: did/made
• cakruḥ: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• īrṣyām: jealousy/envy
• īrṣyām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īrṣyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kathaṃcana: in any way/at all
• kathaṃcana: Kriya-visheshana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃcana (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) = indeclinable adverb; ‘कथंचन’ = in any way/at all

Speaker

Narrator (specific speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four ascetic women in bark garments and antelope skins stand apart, serene and desireless; nearby, other women—some adorned—look on without envy, the atmosphere calm and purified.

Characters & Entities

• tāpasyaḥ (female ascetics)
• valkala (bark garment)
• ajina (antelope skin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It praises niḥspṛhatā (desirelessness) and anīrṣyā (freedom from jealousy), key virtues supporting tīrtha-dharma and inner purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This shloka does not identify a specific tīrtha by name; it contributes to the broader Tīrthamāhātmya ethos of purity and virtue.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; ascetic markers (valkala, ajina) and ethical disciplines (non-attachment, non-envy) are emphasized.