Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

तत्रापि पतनं तस्मात्स्थानाद्भवति भूमिप । वंशोच्छेदान्पुनः सर्वे निपतंति महीतले । त्रुटद्रज्जुनिबद्धं हि भांडं यद्वन्निराश्रयम्

Transliteration

tatrāpi patanaṃ tasmātsthānādbhavati bhūmipa | vaṃśocchedānpunaḥ sarve nipataṃti mahītale | truṭadrajjunibaddhaṃ hi bhāṃḍaṃ yadvannirāśrayam

Translation

حتى من تلك الحال يقع السقوط من ذلك المقام، يا حامي الأرض. فإذا انقطع النَّسَب سقط الجميع ثانيةً إلى عالم الأرض—كإناءٍ مربوطٍ بحبلٍ فانقطع، فبقي بلا سند.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• api: also / even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = also/even

• patanam: falling / downfall
• patanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tasmāt: from that
• tasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन, पुं/नपुंसक

• sthānāt: from the place/position
• sthānāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• bhavati: happens / becomes
• bhavati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhūmipa: O king (lord of the earth)
• bhūmipa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (lord of earth)

• vaṃśocchedān: lineage-extinctions / breaks in lineage
• vaṃśocchedān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक) + uccheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (cutting off of lineage)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरावृत्तिवाचक (again)

• sarve: all (of them)
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• nipatanti: fall down
• nipatanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + pat (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahītale: on the earth’s surface
• mahītale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (surface of the earth)

• truṭat: breaking / snapped
• truṭat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: truṭ (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्राय); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘rajju’ (breaking)

• rajju-nibaddham: tied with a rope
• rajju-nibaddham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rajju (प्रातिपदिक) + ni + bandh (धातु) → nibaddha (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); समासः—तत्पुरुष (bound by a rope) विशेषणम् ‘bhāṃḍam’

• hi: indeed / for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• bhāṃḍam: a vessel/pot
• bhāṃḍam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāṃḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• yadvat: just as
• yadvat: Sambandha (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (just as)

• nirāśrayam: without support
• nirāśrayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘bhāṃḍam’

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king (bhūmipa addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pot suspended by a rope suddenly snapping; the pot falls—symbolizing ancestors losing support when lineage ends; juxtaposed with a family performing annual śrāddha to show the ‘rope’ of continuity.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Lineage-continuity is framed as a spiritual support-system; when it breaks, stability is lost and the departed fall into less supported states.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly encourages sustaining family dharma (including ancestral rites), though no single ritual is directly prescribed here.