Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यदीयं कर्णनेत्रांता तन्वंगी मधुरस्वरा । न जीवति पृथुश्रोणी मरिष्येऽ हमसंशयम्

Transliteration

yadīyaṃ karṇanetrāṃtā tanvaṃgī madhurasvarā | na jīvati pṛthuśroṇī mariṣye' hamasaṃśayam

Translation

Wenn diese Frau mit schlanken Gliedern und süßer Stimme — deren Ohrringe bis an die Augenwinkel reichen und deren Hüften weit sind — nicht lebt, dann werde ich ohne Zweifel sterben.

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Condition marker (शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• इयम्: this (woman)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कर्णनेत्रान्ता: having ears and eyes up to the ends (i.e., well-formed features)
• कर्णनेत्रान्ता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karṇa + netra + antā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (कर्णयोः नेत्रयोः अन्तः/अन्ता) इति समास; विशेषण

• तन्वङ्गी: slender-limbed
• तन्वङ्गी: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tanu + aṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (तन्वङ्गी = तनु-अङ्गी) कर्मधारय; विशेषण

• मधुरस्वरा: sweet-voiced
• मधुरस्वरा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhura + svarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निपात)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• जीवति: lives
• जीवति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पृथुश्रोणी: broad-hipped
• पृथुश्रोणी: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthu + śroṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (to इयम्)

• मरिष्ये: I will die
• मरिष्ये: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

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

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Manner (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a + saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverbial accusative used as indeclinable)

Speaker

Sūta (bereaved narrator continuing lament)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, intimate focus: the mourner gazes at the beloved’s face, recalling her ornaments and sweet voice; earrings long, slender body, broad hips—beauty remembered against the stillness of death.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• the beloved woman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It dramatizes the force of attachment and grief, setting the stage for dharmic remedies (rites, sacred acts) emphasized in tīrtha-māhātmya literature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it continues the lament.