Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततो दुःखपरीतात्मा भक्त्या परमया युतः । तां दिशं प्रणिपत्योच्चैर्जगाम निजमंदिरम्

Transliteration

tato duḥkhaparītātmā bhaktyā paramayā yutaḥ | tāṃ diśaṃ praṇipatyoccairjagāma nijamaṃdiram

Translation

Dann, im Herzen von Kummer umfangen und doch von höchster Hingabe erfüllt, verneigte er sich ehrfürchtig in jene Richtung und ging zurück in seine eigene Wohnstatt.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'then/thereafter'

• duḥkha-parīta-ātmā: sorrow-stricken
• duḥkha-parīta-ātmā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha-parīta-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष: दुःखेन परीतः आत्मा यस्य/यः = 'whose self is overcome by sorrow' (बहुव्रीह्यर्थेऽपि प्रयुज्यते)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — 'with devotion'

• paramayā: supreme
• paramayā: Karana (Instrument-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — 'supreme' (qualifying bhaktyā)

• yutaḥ: endowed (with)
• yutaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yuj (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'joined/endowed (with)'

• tām: that
• tām: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — 'that' (qualifying diśam)

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — 'direction'

• praṇipatya: having prostrated
• praṇipatya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव-रूप) — 'having bowed down/prostrated'

• uccaiḥ: aloud, loudly
• uccaiḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uccaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'aloud/highly'

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'he went'

• nija-mandiram: his own abode/temple
• nija-mandiram: Karma (Goal as object/गन्तव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija-mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय: निजं मन्दिरम् = 'his own temple/abode'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (directional reverence)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee, sorrowful yet resolute, prostrates toward the snow-covered sacred direction, then turns back toward his home, carrying devotion inward.

Characters & Entities

• Bhakti
• Direction of the Deity/Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when sorrowful or separated from immediate darśana, a devotee keeps reverence alive through humble salutation and steadfast bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Himalayan tīrtha-direction referenced in the surrounding verses of Nāgarakhaṇḍa 122.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional act: bowing/prostrating toward the sacred direction associated with the deity/tīrtha.