Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

अहो मे तनयोऽभीष्टः कथमद्य न दृश्यते । कूपांतः पतितः किं नु किं व्यालैर्वा निपातितः

Transliteration

aho me tanayo'bhīṣṭaḥ kathamadya na dṛśyate | kūpāṃtaḥ patitaḥ kiṃ nu kiṃ vyālairvā nipātitaḥ

Translation

Weh mir! Mein geliebter Sohn — warum ist er heute nicht zu sehen? Ist er in einen Brunnen gefallen, oder haben wilde Tiere ihn niedergerissen?

Word by Word

• aho: alas! / oh!
• aho: Bhāva (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/शोकसूचक-अव्यय (interjection)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• tanayaḥ: son
• tanayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• abhīṣṭaḥ: beloved, desired
• abhīṣṭaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhīṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (tanayaḥ)

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Interrogative adverb/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (how?)

• adya: today
• adya: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (today/now)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• dṛśyate: is seen / appears
• dṛśyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive: is seen)

• kūpa-antaḥ: inside the well
• kūpa-antaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (kūpasya antaḥ = inside of the well)

• patitaḥ: fallen
• patitaḥ: Karta (Predicative to tanayaḥ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kim: what? / whether
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• nu: indeed? / I wonder
• nu: Prashna (Interrogative particle/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न/संशयवर्धक-अव्यय (indeed? I wonder)

• kim: or what? / whether
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• vyālaiḥ: by wild beasts/serpents
• vyālaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• nipātitaḥ: thrown down
• nipātitaḥ: Karta (Predicative to tanayaḥ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-pat (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि भावः (having been thrown down)

Speaker

Mṛkaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Agnitīrtha region (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mṛkaṇḍa cries out, scanning a dark well mouth and the surrounding forest; shadows suggest lurking beasts; his face shows terror and love intertwined.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛkaṇḍa
• tanaya (son)
• kūpa (well)
• vyāla (wild beast/serpent)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment and fear arise from love; Purāṇic dharma guides such anguish toward faith and right action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Agnitīrtha-centered narrative stream, though it names no new tīrtha itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a spoken lament (vilāpa) by Mṛkaṇḍa.