Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

परमर्मप्रकाशश्च सद्यःपापसमा गमः । चातुर्मास्ये हरौ सुप्ते परनिन्दां विवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

paramarmaprakāśaśca sadyaḥpāpasamā gamaḥ | cāturmāsye harau supte paranindāṃ vivarjayet

Translation

Die tiefsten Geheimnisse eines anderen zu enthüllen, lässt sogleich Sünde sich anhäufen. Darum soll man während der Cāturmāsya—wenn Hari, so heißt es, schläft—jede Verleumdung anderer meiden.

Word by Word

• पर-मर्म-प्रकाशः: revealing another’s secrets/weak points
• पर-मर्म-प्रकाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + मर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (परस्य मर्म; तस्य प्रकाशः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सद्यः-पाप-समागमः: immediate association with sin
• सद्यः-पाप-समागमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सद्यः पापस्य समागमः = immediate contact with sin)

• चातुर्मास्ये: during Cāturmāsya
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (time-locative)

• हरौ: when/while Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• सुप्ते: being asleep
• सुप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (Past Passive Participle) ‘सुप्त’; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘हरौ’ इति विशेषण (locative absolute sense)

• पर-निन्दाम्: slander of others
• पर-निन्दाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + निन्दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (परस्य निन्दा)

• विवर्जयेत्: should avoid
• विवर्जयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-वृज्/वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hari reclining in yoganidrā on Śeṣa during monsoon; in the foreground devotees keep silence and turn away from a whispering gossip circle, symbolically sealing lips and guarding secrets.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Guarding speech—avoiding betrayal of confidences and slander—is a core discipline that preserves purity during sacred time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is a moral injunction within Māhātmya literature and does not name a specific tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During Cāturmāsya (Hari’s yoganidrā period), refrain from paranindā (slander) and from exposing others’ secrets.