Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 106

Devanagari script

यत्पापं शस्त्रकर्तृणां तथा वह्निप्रदायिनाम् । तन्मे स्याद्यदि नो हन्मि सर्पं दृष्टिवशं गतम्

Transliteration

yatpāpaṃ śastrakartṛṇāṃ tathā vahnipradāyinām | tanme syādyadi no hanmi sarpaṃ dṛṣṭivaśaṃ gatam

Translation

অস্ত্র নির্মাতাদের এবং ক্ষতিসাধনে অগ্নি সংযোগকারীদের যে পাপ—আমি যদি দৃষ্টির অধীন হয়ে আসা সর্পকে বধ না করি, তবে সেই পাপ আমার হোক।

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• शस्त्रकर्तृणाम्: of weapon-makers / those who wield weapons (as doers)
• शस्त्रकर्तृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्र-कर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक; शस्त्र + कर्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘शस्त्र’ = weapon + ‘कर्तृ’ = maker/doer

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यताबोधक-अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• वह्निप्रदायिनाम्: of those who give/provide fire (arsonists)
• वह्निप्रदायिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि-प्रदायिन् (प्रातिपदिक; वह्नि + प्रदायिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘वह्नि’ = अग्नि (fire) + ‘प्रदायिन्’ = दाता (giver)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• मे: to me / for me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th), एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक-अव्यय

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• हन्मि: I kill
• हन्मि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सर्पम्: the snake
• सर्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दृष्टिवशम्: under (my) gaze’s control
• दृष्टिवशम्: Karma (Object-complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृष्टि-वश (प्रातिपदिक; दृष्टि + वश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गतम्: gone/come (into that state)
• गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice; likely a vow-like utterance within the tīrtha episode)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serpent near dry brush and a torch—suggesting the danger of fire—while the protector stands ready; in the background, a smithy silhouette hints at weapon-making as a condemned act.

Characters & Entities

• sarpa (serpent)
• vahni (fire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It equates negligence in a critical moment with severe societal harms, stressing dharma as active responsibility, not mere abstention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 29); the verse itself does not specify the tīrtha name in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is directly stated; the verse functions as a moral-legal avowal within the māhātmya’s story context.