Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 119

Devanagari script

तदर्थं नागराः सर्वे न कुर्वन्ति हि कर्हिचित् । इन्द्रोऽपि च गते तस्मिंश्चतुर्वक्त्रे निजालयम्

Transliteration

tadarthaṃ nāgarāḥ sarve na kurvanti hi karhicit | indro'pi ca gate tasmiṃścaturvaktre nijālayam

Translation

Aus diesem Grund vollbringen alle Nāgaras dies niemals, zu keiner Zeit. Und als der Viergesichtige in seine eigene Wohnstatt gegangen war, handelte auch Indra daraufhin.

Word by Word

• tad-artham: for that purpose
• tad-artham: Sambandha (Purpose/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; क्रियाविशेषण (for that purpose)

• nāgarāḥ: the Nāgaras
• nāgarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• kurvanti: do
• kurvanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• karhicit: ever/at any time
• karhicit: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: karhicit (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (at any time/ever)

• indraḥ: Indra
• indraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

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

• gate: when (he) had gone
• gate: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• tasmin: in/when that (one)
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• catur-vaktre: when the four-faced one (Brahmā)
• catur-vaktre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (चत्वारि वक्त्राणि यस्य)

• nija-ālayam: to his own abode
• nija-ālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (निजः आलयः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicitly marked in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A concluding tableau: Nāgara elders/priestly assembly affirming a permanent rule; in the background Brahmā ascends/withdraws to his abode, while Indra steps forward as the next actor, suggesting protective oversight.

Characters & Entities

• Nāgara people
• Indra
• Brahmā (Caturvaktra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Communal dharma is shaped by authoritative precedent; once a rite is deemed improper, it becomes a lasting custom to avoid it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context connected with Gayākūpī in this chapter’s storyline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A community-level avoidance: the Nāgaras do not perform the previously mentioned practice (the bhasma-based rakṣā) at all.