Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

ततस्तदग्रतः क्षिप्त्वा तं मृतं निजबालकम् । प्रलापानकरोद्दीना वियुक्ता कुररी यथा

Transliteration

tatastadagrataḥ kṣiptvā taṃ mṛtaṃ nijabālakam | pralāpānakaroddīnā viyuktā kurarī yathā

Translation

তখন সে তার মৃত শিশুপুত্রকে তার সামনে নিক্ষেপ করে, দীন-দুঃখিনী হয়ে আবার বিলাপ করতে লাগল—সঙ্গী-বিচ্ছিন্ন কুররী পাখির মতো।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Context/sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'ततः' = 'thereupon/then'

• tad: that
• tad: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण 'अग्रतः' इत्यस्य निर्देशः

• agrataḥ: in front
• agrataḥ: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — 'in front (of)'

• kṣiptvā: having thrown
• kṣiptvā: Kriya (पूर्वकर्म/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; 'having thrown/cast'

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• mṛtam: dead
• mṛtam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √mṛ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• nija-bālakam: her own child
• nija-bālakam: Karma (Object/apposition to 'tam')
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + bālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (निजः बालकः)

• pralāpān: lamentations
• pralāpān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• akarot: did, made
• akarot: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• dīnā: wretched, distressed
• dīnā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• viyuktā: separated, bereft
• viyuktā: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viyukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √yuj (धातु) + क्त, वि-उपसर्ग)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• kurarī: a kurarī bird (osprey/curlew)
• kurarī: Upamana (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kurarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• yathā: as, like
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमानवाचक) — 'as/like'

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bereft mother places her dead child before the Nāga-king; her body bent in grief, hands raised in lament, eyes streaming—evoking the kurarī-bird’s lonely cry.

Characters & Entities

• Nāgī
• Ananta
• Kurarī (bird metaphor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It intensifies the theme that worldly separation is unbearable, preparing the listener for the Purāṇic answer: grace accessed through sacred presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains Ananta’s vicinity/presence, a sacred locus within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is narrative and emotive, not prescriptive.