Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

चिन्तयामास राजेंद्र स्मृत्वावस्थां पितुश्च ताम् । किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं मे स्यात्पितुर्गतिः

Transliteration

cintayāmāsa rājeṃdra smṛtvāvasthāṃ pituśca tām | kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ me syātpiturgatiḥ

Translation

পিতার সেই অবস্থার কথা স্মরণ করে রাজেন্দ্র ভাবতে লাগলেন—“আমি কী করব? কোথায় যাব? কীভাবে আমার পিতার সদ্গতি হবে?”

Word by Word

• चिन्तयामास: pondered, thought
• चिन्तयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative stem: चिन्तय-)

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: राजानाम् इन्द्रः; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• स्मृत्वा: having remembered
• स्मृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive)

• अवस्थाम्: condition, state
• अवस्थाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पितुः: of (his) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (निपात)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• ताम्: that
• ताम्: Visheshana (Demonstrative qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अवस्थाम् इति विशेष्यस्य निर्देशः

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा (contextual), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• करोमि: do I do
• करोमि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• क्व: where
• क्व: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक देशवाचक (interrogative adverb: where)

• गच्छामि: do I go
• गच्छामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक प्रकारवाचक (how)

• मे: for me / my
• मे: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (Genitive/Dative singular enclitic)

• स्यात्: might be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• पितुः: of (my) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गतिः: fate, course, liberation
• गतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king alone in contemplation, hands to forehead or holding a rosary, visualized with a faint apparition/memory of his father’s suffering condition behind him; crossroads ahead symbolize choices of pilgrimage.

Characters & Entities

• rājā (the king)
• pituḥ (the father)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True kingship includes concern for ancestral welfare; dharma begins with sincere inquiry into right action (kartavya).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific tīrtha is not named in this verse; it frames the motive that leads the king toward a sacred-place solution in the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse expresses the intention to seek means for the father’s gati (posthumous welfare).