Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

नैतौ पुनस्तु दुर्ग्राह्यौ ब्रह्मशाप समुद्भवौ

Transliteration

naitau punastu durgrāhyau brahmaśāpa samudbhavau

Translation

„Doch diese beiden sind wahrlich schwer zu bannen, denn sie sind aus dem Fluch Brahmās entstanden.“

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• etau: these two
• etau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) = again/further

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध (particle) = but/indeed

• durgrāhyau: hard to grasp/overcome
• durgrāhyau: Predicative (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + grāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (दुर्ग्राह्य = difficult to seize/overcome)

• brahma-śāpa: a Brahma/Brahmin curse
• brahma-śāpa: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (ब्रह्मणः शापः = curse of a Brahmin/Brahmā)

• samudbhavau: arisen (from it)
• samudbhavau: Predicative (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ud-√bhū (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; भूतकालिक-विशेषण (arisen from)

Speaker

Vyādhayaḥ (or the afflicted party reporting the nature of the ailment), within the narrative to the king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two especially formidable disease-forms stand apart from the others, marked by a Brahmā-associated sign (lotus, four-faced aura) indicating curse-origin; the rest shrink back.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Brahmaśāpa (curse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Some suffering is rooted in deeper karmic/śāpa causes and requires stronger spiritual intervention than ordinary remedies.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya kṣetra, presented as a place where even curse-born afflictions can be addressed through proper rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is named here; it sets up the need for intensified worship and mantra-homa that follows.