Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 125

Devanagari script

ततोऽहं दंडमुद्यम्य कालदंडोपमं रुषा । हन्मि तं यावदेवाहं स मां प्रोवाच पन्नगः

Transliteration

tato'haṃ daṃḍamudyamya kāladaṃḍopamaṃ ruṣā | hanmi taṃ yāvadevāhaṃ sa māṃ provāca pannagaḥ

Translation

Da erhob ich im Zorn meinen Stab – gleich Yamas Strafstab – und als ich gerade zuschlagen wollte, sprach jene Schlange zu mir.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time sequence/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• daṇḍam: staff, rod
• daṇḍam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• udyamya: having raised
• udyamya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ud-√yam (यम्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), 'उद्यम्य' = having lifted/raised

• kāladaṇḍopamam: like Yama's staff (death-like)
• kāladaṇḍopamam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + upama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: (काळस्य दण्डः) + उपमम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'daṇḍa')

• ruṣā: with anger
• ruṣā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means—'in anger'/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ruṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; भाववाचक

• hanmi: I strike / I kill
• hanmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (हन्) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yāvat: until, as long as
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal limit/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिवाचक-अव्यय (as long as / until)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• provāca: said, spoke
• provāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pannagaḥ: the serpent
• pannagaḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within Sūta’s narration to the sages, contextually)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The traveler raises his staff high, face tightened with rage; the serpent lifts its head, poised not to strike but to speak, creating a frozen moment between blow and word.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Yama)
• pannaga (serpent)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Anger quickly turns a person toward violence; Dharma asks for discernment before punishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow; the immediate shloka is narrative setup rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna/dāna/japa) is stated in this verse.