Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । एवं तस्य वचः श्रुत्वा शांडिली ब्रह्मचारिणी । मौनव्रतधराऽप्येवं हृदि कोपं दधार सा

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | evaṃ tasya vacaḥ śrutvā śāṃḍilī brahmacāriṇī | maunavratadharā'pyevaṃ hṛdi kopaṃ dadhāra sā

Translation

সূত বললেন—সে কথা শুনে ব্রহ্মচারিণী শাণ্ডিলী, মৌনব্রত পালন করলেও, হৃদয়ে ক্রোধ ধারণ করল।

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• tasya: of him / his
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vacaḥ: words
• vacaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (वचस्-शब्द)

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya (Non-finite/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• śāṃḍilī: Śāṇḍilī
• śāṃḍilī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṃḍilī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• brahmacāriṇī: a female celibate (brahmacāriṇī)
• brahmacāriṇī: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपाधि/विशेष्य

• mauna-vrata-dharā: one who observes a vow of silence
• mauna-vrata-dharā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mauna (प्रातिपदिक) + vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + dharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समास: (मौनव्रतं धारयति या) उपपद-तत्पुरुष/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थ

• api: even / also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (thus)

• hṛdi: in (her) heart
• hṛdi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• kopam: anger
• kopam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• dadhāra: held / bore
• dadhāra: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धृ धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śāṇḍilī as a brahmacāriṇī ascetic—matted hair, simple bark/cloth, rosary—sitting in silence; her face calm outwardly but with a subtle inner flame/auric red indicating suppressed anger; Sūta narrating in the background as a storyteller.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Śāṇḍilī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer vows like silence are incomplete without inner purification; unchecked anger can arise even in disciplined practitioners.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya storyline; the tīrtha setting is contextual rather than explicitly named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A mauna-vrata (vow of silence) is referenced, but no step-by-step ritual instruction is given here.