Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

यस्याः स्वादनतो लोकः कामात्मा समपद्यत । न कश्चिद्यजनं चक्रे याजनं च विशेषतः । अन्या धर्मक्रियाः सर्वाः प्रणष्टा धर्मसंभवाः

Transliteration

yasyāḥ svādanato lokaḥ kāmātmā samapadyata | na kaścidyajanaṃ cakre yājanaṃ ca viśeṣataḥ | anyā dharmakriyāḥ sarvāḥ praṇaṣṭā dharmasaṃbhavāḥ

Translation

وبتذوّقه صار الناس محكومين بالشهوة. فلم يُقِم أحدٌ اليَجْنَ (قربانَ التضحية)، ولم يُرتِّب أحدٌ لإقامته، ولا سيّما؛ وتلاشت سائر أعمال الدَّرما كلّها، تلك المولودة من الاستقامة.

Word by Word

• yasyāḥ: of whom/whose (f.)
• yasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• svādanataḥ: from tasting; due to enjoyment
• svādanataḥ: Apādāna (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svādana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे (cause)

• lokaḥ: the world/people
• lokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• kāmātmā: lust-minded; one whose nature is desire
• kāmātmā: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कामा-आत्मा = कामः आत्मा यस्य)

• samapadyata: became; came to be
• samapadyata: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√pad (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

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

• kaścit: anyone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• yajanam: sacrifice; worship (act of yajña)
• yajanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• cakre: did; performed
• cakre: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• yājanam: causing/performing sacrifice (as priestly act)
• yājanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yājana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• viśeṣataḥ: especially; in particular
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• anyāḥ: other
• anyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• dharmakriyāḥ: religious rites
• dharmakriyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धर्मस्य क्रियाः)

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• praṇaṣṭāḥ: destroyed; lost
• praṇaṣṭāḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√naś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• dharmasaṃbhavāḥ: arising from dharma; dharma-born
• dharmasaṃbhavāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धर्मात् सम्भवाः)

Speaker

Narrator

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate sacrificial ground: cold altars, extinguished fires, neglected vedi; townspeople absorbed in pleasure while dharma-symbols (yajña implements, śraddhā vessels) lie unused.

Characters & Entities

• tāmbūla/nāgavallī
• yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When society becomes kāma-driven, yajña and dharma-kriyā decline, weakening the sacred order that sustains both humans and gods.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a site-focused verse; it provides the moral crisis within the broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references yajña (yajana) and sponsoring priests/rites (yājana) as neglected duties, implying their importance.