Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 173

Devanagari script

ततो निशामुखे प्राप्ते कौपीनावरणान्वितः । नष्टोऽभीष्टां दिशं प्राप्य तदा जीवितजाद्भयात्

Transliteration

tato niśāmukhe prāpte kaupīnāvaraṇānvitaḥ | naṣṭo'bhīṣṭāṃ diśaṃ prāpya tadā jīvitajādbhayāt

Translation

Dann, als die Nacht hereinbrach, nur mit einem Lendenschurz bekleidet, schlich er davon und erreichte die Richtung, die er begehrte—getrieben von Furcht um sein eigenes Leben.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then/thereupon)

• niśā-mukhe: at nightfall
• niśā-mukhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः — ‘at the beginning of night’

• prāpte: when (it) had come/arrived
• prāpte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) → prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; सप्तमी-absolute (locative absolute) सह niśāmukhe

• kaupīna-āvaraṇa-anvitaḥ: wearing a loincloth covering
• kaupīna-āvaraṇa-anvitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaupīna (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (kaupīna-āvaraṇena anvitaḥ) — ‘endowed with a loincloth covering’; anvita = भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• naṣṭaḥ: having fled/gone away
• naṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naś (धातु) → naṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त — ‘lost/gone’

• abhīṣṭām: desired
• abhīṣṭām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhīṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण diśam प्रति

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive) — ‘having reached’

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• jīvita-jāt: from (the desire for) life
• jīvita-jāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः — ‘arisen from life (i.e., from desire to live)’; पञ्चमी-हेतौ (ablative of cause)

• bhayāt: out of fear
• bhayāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ पञ्चमी

Speaker

Narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night escape scene: a man in only a kaupīna slips past sleeping quarters, moonlight on temple spires, shadows of trees, a narrow lane leading out of the sacred town; his posture is hunched, eyes scanning for pursuers.

Characters & Entities

• niśā
• kaupīna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When conscience and society close in, fear follows; Purāṇic narratives depict how adharma destabilizes life and security.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is narrative connective tissue within a Tīrthamāhātmya account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.