Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । अन्यदेहांतरे ह्यासीच्चंडाली सा विगर्हिता । बहुप्रसूतिसंयुक्ता दरिद्रेण कदर्थिता

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | anyadehāṃtare hyāsīccaṃḍālī sā vigarhitā | bahuprasūtisaṃyuktā daridreṇa kadarthitā

Translation

সূতে ক’লে: অন্য দেহত সেয়া নিন্দিত চাণ্ডালী নাৰী আছিল; বহু প্ৰসৱৰ বোজা লৈ, দাৰিদ্ৰ্যৰ যন্ত্ৰণাত কদৰ্থিত হৈছিল।

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• anya-deha-antare: in another body (in a former embodiment)
• anya-deha-antare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः: अन्यः देहः, तस्य अन्तरे); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

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

• āsīt: was
• āsīt: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• caṇḍālī: a Caṇḍāla woman
• caṇḍālī: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vigarhitā: despised/condemned
• vigarhitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garh (धातु) + ita (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• bahu-prasūti-saṃyuktā: endowed with many childbirths (having borne many children)
• bahu-prasūti-saṃyuktā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + prasūti (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyukta (सम्+युज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहवः प्रसूतयः, ताभिः संयुक्ता); कृदन्त-विशेषण (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• daridreṇa: by poverty / by a poor condition
• daridreṇa: Karana (Instrument/agentive instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daridra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; साधन/सहकारि-भावे

• kadarthitā: miserably afflicted/ill-treated
• kadarthitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kadarth (धातु/नामधातु) + ita (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Purāṇic frame, contextually applicable)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark portrayal of a caṇḍāla woman in hardship—thin garments, weary posture, children around, a poor hut—conveying social exclusion and poverty.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames worldly suffering as part of saṃsāra and prepares the teaching that even the afflicted can be uplifted through dharma and tīrtha-grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is narrative backstory within the Adhyāya that celebrates the potency of the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive context for the karmic narrative.