Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अथ तान्विकृतान्दृष्ट्वा सर्वे शंकासमन्विताः । जगृहुर्नैव राजेंद्र जहसुश्च परस्परम्

Transliteration

atha tānvikṛtāndṛṣṭvā sarve śaṃkāsamanvitāḥ | jagṛhurnaiva rājeṃdra jahasuśca parasparam

Translation

Doch als sie jene entstellten Gestalten sahen, wurden alle von Zweifel erfüllt; o König, sie ergriffen sie nicht, sondern lachten miteinander.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Adhikaraṇa (Discourse marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक-निपात) — ‘then/now’

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — कर्मपदम्

• vikṛtān: altered; deformed
• vikṛtān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-kṛta (कृ धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, प्रातिपदिकवत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — विशेषणम् (tān इति) — ‘deformed/changed’

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः — ‘having seen’

• sarve: all (of them)
• sarve: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — कर्तृपदम् (समूहः)

• śaṃkā-samanvitāḥ: filled with doubt
• śaṃkā-samanvitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaṃkā (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (सम्-अन्-वित्/विन् धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, प्रातिपदिकवत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘शंकया समन्विताः’ (endowed with doubt)

• jagṛhuḥ: they seized
• jagṛhuḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — ‘they seized’

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

• eva: indeed; at all
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात) — emphasis

• rājendra: O king (best of kings)
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन — ‘राज्ञाम् इन्द्र’ (O king of kings)

• jahasuḥ: they laughed
• jahasuḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: has (हस् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — ‘they laughed’

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

• parasparam: mutually; at one another
• parasparam: Prayojaka (Reciprocal manner/परस्पर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paraspara (प्रातिपदिकवत्/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (परस्पर-क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘mutually/at each other’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājendra (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas and dānavas halt mid-stride, faces shifting from eagerness to suspicion; some point and whisper; others laugh, stepping back from grotesque or oddly shaped emergent forms near the surf.

Characters & Entities

• Deva(s)
• Dānava(s)
• Rājendra (addressed king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid collective excitement, wise hesitation arises when something appears adharmic or inauspicious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.