Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

भक्ष्यतां भक्ष्यतां शीघ्रं मम नाशाय संस्थिताम् । सांप्रतं मन्मुखे तेनं रुधिरं पन्नगोत्तमाः

Transliteration

bhakṣyatāṃ bhakṣyatāṃ śīghraṃ mama nāśāya saṃsthitām | sāṃprataṃ manmukhe tenaṃ rudhiraṃ pannagottamāḥ

Translation

„Fresst sie, fresst sie schnell – sie ist zu meiner Vernichtung hierhergekommen! Nun, o Beste der Schlangen, steht mir wegen ihr das Blut im Mund.“

Word by Word

• bhakṣyatām: let (her) be eaten
• bhakṣyatām: Vidhi (Injunctive/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (भक्ष्)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), कर्मणि-प्रयोगः; तृतीय-पुरुष, एकवचन; ‘let (her) be eaten’

• bhakṣyatām: let (her) be eaten
• bhakṣyatām: Vidhi (Injunctive/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (भक्ष्)
• Form: लोट्, कर्मणि; तृतीय-पुरुष, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphasis)

• śīghram: quickly
• śīghram: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śīghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nāśāya: for (my) destruction
• nāśāya: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ (for the purpose of destruction)

• saṃsthitām: standing/intent (on it)
• saṃsthitām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (स्था) + sam- (उपसर्ग) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘standing/placed, intent’ (enām implied)

• sāṃpratam: now
• sāṃpratam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃprata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• mat-mukhe: in my mouth
• mat-mukhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘mama mukham’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tad: that
• tad: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object)

• rudhiram: blood
• rudhiram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object)

• pannaga-uttamāḥ: best of serpents
• pannaga-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘uttamāḥ pannagāḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A frantic figure cries out to coiled nāgas, urging them to devour; the mouth is smeared with blood, eyes wide; serpents rise with flared hoods, while the ascetic woman remains poised, hinting at an unseen protective radiance.

Characters & Entities

• pannaga (serpents)
• Bhaṭṭikā (implied by episode context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hostility toward a tapasvinī rebounds; spiritual power (tapas) makes aggression self-destructive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.