Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

कथं तपः समर्थासि विधातुं त्वमनिंदिते । कन्दमूलफलाहारा चीरवल्कलधारिणी

Transliteration

kathaṃ tapaḥ samarthāsi vidhātuṃ tvamaniṃdite | kandamūlaphalāhārā cīravalkaladhāriṇī

Translation

Wie könntest du, Tadellose, eine solche Askese vollbringen—von Wurzeln, Knollen und Früchten lebend und Lumpen sowie Rindenkleider tragend?

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: “how?”)

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.)

• समर्था: capable
• समर्था: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• असि: you are
• असि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचन (2nd sg.)

• विधातुम्: to perform, to accomplish
• विधातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धा (धातु) + वि- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त; infinitive (कर्तुमर्थे)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• अनिन्दिते: O blameless one
• अनिन्दिते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनिन्दित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन (Voc. sg.)

• कन्दमूलफलाहारा: one whose food is roots, bulbs, and fruits
• कन्दमूलफलाहारा: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्द + मूल + फल + आहार (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (आहारः कन्दमूलफलानाम्)

• चीरवल्कलधारिणी: wearing bark-garments and tree-bark
• चीरवल्कलधारिणी: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चीर + वल्कल + धारिणी (धृ धातु-निन्/िणी-प्रत्ययान्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (धारिणी चीरवल्कलयोः)

Speaker

Mṛgāvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An elder or guardian addresses a blameless young woman ascetic, noting her diet of roots and fruits and her bark/rag garments; the setting suggests a hermitage edge near a sacred landscape, with a tone of anxious care.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛgāvatī
• Ratnāvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas is portrayed as a demanding discipline (diet and clothing restraints), and elders counsel discernment before adopting it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied ascetic observances: restricted diet (kandamūla-phala) and ascetic clothing (cīra/valkala).