Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

अथ कामे निरुत्साहे संजाते द्विजसत्तमाः । व्याधिग्रस्ते जगत्यस्मिन्सृष्टिरोधो व्यजायत

Transliteration

atha kāme nirutsāhe saṃjāte dvijasattamāḥ | vyādhigraste jagatyasminsṛṣṭirodho vyajāyata

Translation

হে দ্বিজশ্রেষ্ঠগণ! যখন কাম (ইচ্ছা) নিস্তেজ ও নিরুৎসাহ হল, আর এই জগৎ রোগাক্রান্ত হয়ে পড়ল, তখন সৃষ্টির প্রবাহ রুদ্ধ হয়ে গেল।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/thereupon)

• कामे: in Kāma (Kāmadeva)
• कामे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in Kāma (Kāmadeva)’

• निरुत्साहे: being without vigor
• निरुत्साहे: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरुत्साह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘without energy’—कामे विशेषणम्

• संजाते: when (it) had arisen
• संजाते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘arisen/occurred’; सप्तमी, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः ‘श्रेष्ठा द्विजाः’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयोगः

• व्याधिग्रस्ते: when (the world) was afflicted by disease
• व्याधिग्रस्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याधि (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रस् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: उपपद-तत्पुरुष (व्याधिना ग्रस्तः); सप्तमी, एकवचन; जगति विशेषणम्; सति-सप्तमी

• जगति: in the world
• जगति: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘in this’—जगति विशेषणम्

• सृष्टिरोधः: cessation/obstruction of creation
• सृष्टिरोधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘सृष्टेः रोधः’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• व्यजायत: arose, came about
• व्यजायत: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + जन् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: Kāmadeva’s bow slack, spring deities subdued; the world appears sickly—fields barren, households childless—signifying sṛṣṭi-nirodha.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Kāmadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos depends on balanced forces; when a principle like kāma is corrupted or incapacitated, worldly continuity is disrupted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides the crisis that the later tīrtha-context typically resolves.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; it narrates a cosmic problem (sṛṣṭi-rodha) rather than a rite.