Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

संसारभ्रमणं नारी प्रथमेपि समागमे । वह्निप्रदक्षिणा व्याजन्यायेनैव प्रदर्शयेत्

Transliteration

saṃsārabhramaṇaṃ nārī prathamepi samāgame | vahnipradakṣiṇā vyājanyāyenaiva pradarśayet

Translation

Schon bei der ersten Begegnung kann eine Frau das Rad des Umherirrens im Saṃsāra in Gang setzen—wie man jemanden unter dem Vorwand der Pradakṣiṇā (rituelle Umrundung) um das Feuer kreisen lässt.

Word by Word

• संसारभ्रमणम्: wandering in saṃsāra
• संसारभ्रमणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक) + भ्रमण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य भ्रमणम्)

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रथमे: in the first
• प्रथमे: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (समागमे)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अप्यर्थक-निपात (even/also)

• समागमे: in meeting/union
• समागमे: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वह्निप्रदक्षिणा: circumambulation of fire
• वह्निप्रदक्षिणा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वह्नेः प्रदक्षिणा)

• व्याजन्यायेन: by the pretext-method/under the guise of a rationale
• व्याजन्यायेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याज (प्रातिपदिक) + न्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (व्याजस्य न्यायः)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle: only/indeed)

• प्रदर्शयेत्: would show/indicate
• प्रदर्शयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Viśvāmitra (continuing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Metaphorical scene: a person circling a sacred fire as in a wedding rite, but the circles transform into a wheel labeled ‘saṃsāra’; the sage reveals the hidden mechanism of bondage.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse warns that desire can begin with a small encounter and quickly lead to continued bondage in saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified; the focus is a dharma-analogy inside the broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it references the familiar act of fire-circumambulation as an illustrative analogy.