Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

एवं स प्रलपन्विप्रो बभ्राम गहने वने । कुशकण्टकविद्धांगः क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः

Transliteration

evaṃ sa pralapanvipro babhrāma gahane vane | kuśakaṇṭakaviddhāṃgaḥ kṣutpipāsāsamākulaḥ

Translation

So irrte der Brahmane klagend im dichten Wald umher; sein Leib war von Kuśa-Gras und Dornen durchstochen, gequält von Hunger und Durst.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: ‘thus’)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• प्रलपन्: speaking incoherently
• प्रलपन्: Karta-sāmānādhikaraṇa (Concomitant action of subject/कर्ता-सहक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-लप् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त (present active participle, शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘speaking/rambling’

• विप्रः: a brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता-विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बभ्राम: wandered
• बभ्राम: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• गहने: in a dense (place)
• गहने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (locative adjective)

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कुशकण्टकविद्धाङ्गः: whose body was pierced by kuśa-thorns
• कुशकण्टकविद्धाङ्गः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुश (प्रातिपदिक) + कण्टक (प्रातिपदिक) + विद्ध (√व्यध्/विध् धातु, क्त कृदन्त) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कुश-कण्टक-विद्ध-अङ्गः = whose limbs are pierced by kuśa-thorns)

• क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः: distressed by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पिपासा (प्रातिपदिक) + समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (क्षुत्-पिपासा-समाकुलः = afflicted with hunger and thirst)

Speaker

Narrator (describing Jābāli)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone brāhmaṇa, clothes torn, body scratched by kuśa and thorns, staggers through a dark, tangled forest, clutching his chest in grief; sparse moonlight filters through dense foliage.

Characters & Entities

• Jābāli
• kuśa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering in pursuit of what is righteous mirrors tapas; endurance becomes the bridge leading the seeker toward sacred discovery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named in this verse; it sets the hardship-filled approach within the Mahātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse depicts hardship akin to involuntary austerity.