Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

कृत्वा मूत्रपुरीषं च जन्मभोगविवर्जितम् । नान्यज्जानाति कर्तव्यं धर्मं स्वोदरसं श्रयात्

Transliteration

kṛtvā mūtrapurīṣaṃ ca janmabhogavivarjitam | nānyajjānāti kartavyaṃ dharmaṃ svodarasaṃ śrayāt

Translation

Wenn das Leben auf Urin und Kot herabgesetzt wird—ohne den wahren Sinn der Geburt und ohne höhere Wonne—kennt man keine Pflicht mehr außer einem „Dharma“, das nur dem eigenen Bauch dient.

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having made/done’

• मूत्रपुरीषम्: urine and feces
• मूत्रपुरीषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूत्र-पुरीष (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: मूत्र + पुरीष)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (2nd/Accusative Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• जन्मभोगविवर्जितम्: devoid of birth and enjoyment
• जन्मभोगविवर्जितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म-भोग-विवर्जित (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: जन्म + भोग + विवर्जित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मूत्रपुरीषम्)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• अन्यत्: anything else
• अन्यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (2nd/Accusative Singular); ‘anything else’

• जानाति: knows
• जानाति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• कर्तव्यम्: to be done; obligatory
• कर्तव्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; विशेषणम् (धर्मम्)

• धर्मम्: duty/dharma
• धर्मम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (2nd/Accusative Singular)

• स्वोदरसम्: one’s own belly-juice (selfish appetite)
• स्वोदरसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व-उदर-रस (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: स्व + उदर + रस)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (2nd/Accusative Singular)

• श्रयात्: should resort to
• श्रयात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रि (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘should resort to’

Speaker

Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrative voice; admonitory dialogue context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark didactic scene: a teacher points to the human body’s waste and warns against living only for the belly; the mood is renunciatory and corrective.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human birth should be used for dharma and higher aims, not reduced to bodily functions and mere survival.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it serves as a moral framing within a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it emphasizes inner orientation toward dharma rather than ritual detail.