Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

एवं ज्ञात्वा मया विप्र दृष्ट्वा सर्पविचेष्टितम् । सर्वसंगपरित्यागो मोक्षार्थं परिकल्पितः

Transliteration

evaṃ jñātvā mayā vipra dṛṣṭvā sarpaviceṣṭitam | sarvasaṃgaparityāgo mokṣārthaṃ parikalpitaḥ

Translation

So, o Brahmane, habe ich, nachdem ich (diese Wahrheit) durch das Beobachten des Gebarens einer Schlange erkannt hatte, das Aufgeben aller Bindungen als Weg angenommen, der auf Mokṣa, die Befreiung, zielt.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb of manner)

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vipra: O brāhmaṇa
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive)

• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: the conduct/movement of a snake
• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक; from vi+ceṣṭ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• sarva-saṅga-parityāgaḥ: abandonment of all attachments
• sarva-saṅga-parityāgaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + parityāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mokṣa-artham: for liberation
• mokṣa-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (accusative of purpose)

• parikalpitaḥ: has been ordained/arranged
• parikalpitaḥ: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari + kḷp (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘has been prescribed/arranged’

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: first-person narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya addressing a brāhmaṇa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative ascetic watches a serpent moving silently, shedding skin or slipping into a hole; the scene conveys the lesson of solitude, minimal contact, and leaving behind old coverings (attachments).

Characters & Entities

• Vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• Sarpa (serpent)
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Nature itself can become a guru; observing the serpent’s way inspires complete non-attachment as a means to mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse does not name a specific tīrtha; it frames an instructive episode within the broader tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual; it prescribes sarvasaṅga-parityāga—renouncing all worldly ties for liberation.