Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

संसारभ्रमणं नारी प्रथमेऽपि समागमे । वह्निप्रदक्षिणन्यायव्याजेनैव प्रदर्शयेत्

Transliteration

saṃsārabhramaṇaṃ nārī prathame'pi samāgame | vahnipradakṣiṇanyāyavyājenaiva pradarśayet

Translation

Schon bei der ersten Vereinigung lässt die Frau den Mann das „Kreisen“ des Saṃsāra erkennen, unter dem Vorwand der Vorschrift, das heilige Feuer zu umschreiten.

Word by Word

• saṃsāra-bhramaṇam: wandering in saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-bhramaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhramaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative 1st) वा द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (Accusative 2nd), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter); तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी) ‘संसारस्य भ्रमणम्’

• nārī: a woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative 1st), स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine)

• prathame: in the first
• prathame: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative 7th), पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Mas/Neut); विशेषणम् (qualifying samāgame)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-अव्ययम् (particle: ‘even/also’)

• samāgame: in the meeting/union
• samāgame: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative 7th), पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine)

• vahni-pradakṣiṇa-nyāya-vyājena: by the pretext of the rule of circumambulating the fire
• vahni-pradakṣiṇa-nyāya-vyājena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक) + pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nyāya (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनम् (Instrumental 3rd), पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सम्बन्ध) ‘वह्निप्रदक्षिणस्य न्यायः’ इति ‘वह्निप्रदक्षिणन्यायः’, तस्य व्याजः (pretext)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• pradarśayet: should show, should demonstrate
• pradarśayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√dṛś (धातु) (causative sense in context)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (Singular), परस्मैपदम्; प्रेरणार्थक-भावः (should show/should make known)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator voice in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wedding scene around the sacred fire: a couple circumambulates Agni; behind them, a faint cosmic wheel (saṃsāra-cakra) overlays the circle, showing how the ritual circle mirrors existential circling; an ascetic observes with contemplative detachment.

Characters & Entities

• Agni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual and relationship can become a doorway to attachment; one must preserve discernment so rites do not turn into bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse uses a marriage-rite image to teach detachment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Agni-pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation of the sacred fire) is referenced as a customary rite, used here as a metaphor.