Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 173

Devanagari script

ततो निशामुखे प्राप्ते कौपीनावरणान्वितः । नष्टोऽभीष्टां दिशं प्राप्य तदा जीवितजाद्भयात्

Transliteration

tato niśāmukhe prāpte kaupīnāvaraṇānvitaḥ | naṣṭo'bhīṣṭāṃ diśaṃ prāpya tadā jīvitajādbhayāt

Translation

ثم لما أقبل الليل، وهو لا يلبس إلا مئزرًا، تسلّل هاربًا وبلغ الجهة التي أرادها—مدفوعًا حينئذٍ بالخوف على حياته.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then/thereupon)

• niśā-mukhe: at nightfall
• niśā-mukhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः — ‘at the beginning of night’

• prāpte: when (it) had come/arrived
• prāpte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) → prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; सप्तमी-absolute (locative absolute) सह niśāmukhe

• kaupīna-āvaraṇa-anvitaḥ: wearing a loincloth covering
• kaupīna-āvaraṇa-anvitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaupīna (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (kaupīna-āvaraṇena anvitaḥ) — ‘endowed with a loincloth covering’; anvita = भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• naṣṭaḥ: having fled/gone away
• naṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naś (धातु) → naṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त — ‘lost/gone’

• abhīṣṭām: desired
• abhīṣṭām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhīṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण diśam प्रति

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive) — ‘having reached’

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• jīvita-jāt: from (the desire for) life
• jīvita-jāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘arisen from life (i.e., from desire to live)’; पञ्चमी-हेतौ (ablative of cause)

• bhayāt: out of fear
• bhayāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ पञ्चमी

Speaker

Narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night escape scene: a man in only a kaupīna slips past sleeping quarters, moonlight on temple spires, shadows of trees, a narrow lane leading out of the sacred town; his posture is hunched, eyes scanning for pursuers.

Characters & Entities

• niśā
• kaupīna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When conscience and society close in, fear follows; Purāṇic narratives depict how adharma destabilizes life and security.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is narrative connective tissue within a Tīrthamāhātmya account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.