Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

सबाल्यात्प्रभृति प्रायो महिषाणां प्रबोधनम् । करोति संपरित्यज्य सर्वमश्वादिवाहनम्

Transliteration

sabālyātprabhṛti prāyo mahiṣāṇāṃ prabodhanam | karoti saṃparityajya sarvamaśvādivāhanam

Translation

Von Kindheit an widmete er sich meist dem Aufscheuchen und Treiben der Büffel und gab alle anderen Reittiere, wie Pferde und dergleichen, völlig auf.

Word by Word

• sa-bālyāt: from childhood
• sa-bālyāt: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + bālya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय (from childhood)

• prabhṛti: since, from
• prabhṛti: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधि/आरम्भवाचक (since/from)

• prāyaḥ: generally, mostly
• prāyaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverbial use)

• mahiṣāṇām: of buffaloes
• mahiṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• prabodhanam: awakening, rousing
• prabodhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pra-budh (धातु) + prabodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• karoti: does, performs
• karoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• saṃparityajya: having completely abandoned
• saṃparityajya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-pari-tyaj (धातु) + tyajya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• aśvādi-vāhanam: mounts/vehicles such as horses
• aśvādi-vāhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśva (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आदि-समासान्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A handsome youth from childhood driving and rousing buffalo herds, rejecting horses and other mounts; rustic energy and dust, with a hint of impending misfortune.

Characters & Entities

• Mahiṣa (buffalo)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Habitual choices formed from early life can become the cause of later karmic consequences in sacred narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader episode moves toward the bank of the Jahnavī (Gaṅgā), a central tīrtha in this section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative background describing conduct and travel.