Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 116

Devanagari script

अदृष्टदेववक्त्राणां यत्पापं मत्स्यजीविनाम् । तन्मे स्याद्यदि नो हन्मि सर्पं दृष्टिवशं गतम्

Transliteration

adṛṣṭadevavaktrāṇāṃ yatpāpaṃ matsyajīvinām | tanme syādyadi no hanmi sarpaṃ dṛṣṭivaśaṃ gatam

Translation

Wenn ich die Schlange, die unter die Macht meines Blickes geraten ist, nicht töte, so möge die Sünde derer, die das Antlitz der Götter nicht geschaut haben, und derer, die vom Fischfang leben, auf mich fallen.

Word by Word

• अदृष्टदेववक्त्राणाम्: of those with unseen divine faces (i.e., who have not seen the gods)
• अदृष्टदेववक्त्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदृष्ट + देव + वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अदृष्ट-देव-वक्त्र = 'whose faces have not seen the gods'/or 'unseen divine faces'); षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (वक्त्र-शब्दः नपुंसक)

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma/Predicative (Object/Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मत्स्यजीविनाम्: of those who live by fish (fisherfolk)
• मत्स्यजीविनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य + जीविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मत्स्य-जीविन् = 'living by fish'); षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• तत्: that (sin)
• तत्: Pratijñā/Anuvāda (Correlative/अनुवाद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मे: to me / mine
• मे: Sampradana/Sambandha (to me/of me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-निर्देशक अव्यय

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

• हन्मि: I kill
• हन्मि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सर्पम्: a snake
• सर्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दृष्टिवशम्: under the control of sight
• दृष्टिवशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृष्टि + वश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्पम्-विशेषण

• गतम्: gone/come
• गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्पम्-विशेषण

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya (deductively: Sūta relating a tale/dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The vow intensifies: failure to kill the gaze-subdued serpent would burden the speaker with the sins of those deprived of devadarśana and those who live by fishing. The sacred horizon suggests temples or divine presence beyond the immediate danger.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse intensifies a vow by invoking socially and religiously charged ‘sins,’ illustrating how Purāṇas use moral contrasts to propel narrative action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse, though it belongs to a broader Tīrtha-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is a conditional vow tied to killing a serpent.