Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

भो भो ब्राह्मणशार्दूला मा मैवं साहसं महत् । यूयं कुरुत मद्वाक्यात्संतुष्टस्य विशेषतः

Transliteration

bho bho brāhmaṇaśārdūlā mā maivaṃ sāhasaṃ mahat | yūyaṃ kuruta madvākyātsaṃtuṣṭasya viśeṣataḥ

Translation

„O ihr Brāhmaṇas, tigerhaft an Mut, begeht nicht auf diese Weise eine so große Tollkühnheit. Tut vielmehr nach meinem Wort—zumal jetzt, da ich euch besonders wohlgesinnt bin.“

Word by Word

• bho: O!
• bho: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संबोधन-निपात (vocative particle)

• bho: O!
• bho: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संबोधन-निपात

• brāhmaṇa-śārdūlāḥ: O tiger-like (eminent) brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇa-śārdūlāḥ: Sambodhana (Addressee)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śārdūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ('tiger-like brāhmaṇas' = eminent brāhmaṇas); पुंलिङ्ग; संबोधन (Vocative/8th), बहुवचन

• mā: do not
• mā: Pratiṣedha (Prohibition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (prohibitive particle)

• mā: do not
• mā: Pratiṣedha (Prohibition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (repeated for emphasis)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: 'thus/so')

• sāhasam: rash act, violence
• sāhasam: Karma (Object of implied 'do')
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāhasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• mahat: great
• mahat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (qualifying sāhasam)

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (2nd person)

• kuruta: do, act
• kuruta: Kriya (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); आत्मनेपद; मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• mat-vākyāt: from my word / as per my statement
• mat-vākyāt: Apādāna/Hetu (Source/ground)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: 'my word'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन (ablative: 'from/according to')

• saṃtuṣṭasya: of (one who is) satisfied
• saṃtuṣṭasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-tuṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) 'satisfied'; पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (genitive: 'of the satisfied one' = of me being satisfied)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'especially')

Speaker

Śiva (addressing the brāhmaṇas)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhagavān raises a hand in ‘abhaya’ and admonition; the brāhmaṇas, poised to step into fire, pause and look up, chastened yet comforted.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved by restraint and obedience to righteous divine counsel, not by impulsive extremes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa kṣetra context that will be linked to nearby liṅgas and sacred sub-sites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription: follow the deity’s directive; the concrete request appears in subsequent verses.