Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

शाकंभर्यपि तत्कायं गृहीत्वा हव्यवाहनम् । प्रविष्टा नृपशार्दूल निर्विकल्पेन चेतसा

Transliteration

śākaṃbharyapi tatkāyaṃ gṛhītvā havyavāhanam | praviṣṭā nṛpaśārdūla nirvikalpena cetasā

Translation

Auch Śākaṃbharī nahm seinen Leib auf und trat in das Opferfeuer (Havyavāhana) ein — o Tiger unter den Königen — mit einem Geist ohne Schwanken.

Word by Word

• śākaṃbharī: Śākambharī (the goddess)
• śākaṃbharī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākaṃbharī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• tat-kāyam: that body
• tat-kāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्य कायः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• gṛhītvā: having taken
• gṛhītvā: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त, absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• havyavāhanam: Havyavāhana (Agni)
• havyavāhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havyavāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• praviṣṭā: entered
• praviṣṭā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√viś (विश् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, past participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nṛpa-śārdūla: O tiger among kings
• nṛpa-śārdūla: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śārdūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (नृपः शार्दूल इव); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• nirvikalpena: with unwavering
• nirvikalpena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirvikalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (चेतसः)

• cetasā: mind
• cetasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator addressing a king (listener indicated by 'nṛpaśārdūla')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (chapter context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages / or a king within the embedded tale (addressed as nṛpaśārdūla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śākaṃbharī, composed and unwavering, steps into the blazing sacrificial fire; the setting suggests a consecrated yajña-śālā with priests, kuṇḍa, and ritual implements; the king addressed as ‘nṛpaśārdūla’ is an implied witness in the narrative frame.

Characters & Entities

• Śākaṃbharī
• Agni (Havyavāhana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast resolve in dharma, even at life’s end, is portrayed as spiritually elevating when grounded in devotion and sacred context.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is framed within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya connected to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Entry into the consecrated fire (havyavāhana) is narrated as an act; it reflects a Purāṇic motif rather than a general injunction.