Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

नंदिन्युवाच । परेषां प्राणयात्रार्थं तत्कर्तुं युज्यते शुभाः । आत्मप्राणहितार्थाय न साधूनां प्रशस्यते

Transliteration

naṃdinyuvāca | pareṣāṃ prāṇayātrārthaṃ tatkartuṃ yujyate śubhāḥ | ātmaprāṇahitārthāya na sādhūnāṃ praśasyate

Translation

Nandinī sprach: „Um des Überlebens anderer willen ist es angemessen, so zu handeln, o ihr Guten. Doch nur zum Vorteil des eigenen Lebens zu handeln wird unter den Tugendhaften nicht gepriesen.“

Word by Word

• नन्दिनी: Nandinī
• नन्दिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said/spoke
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• परेषाम्: of others
• परेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्यतः), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• प्राणयात्रार्थम्: for the purpose of sustaining life
• प्राणयात्रार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण + यात्रा + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—(प्राणयात्रायाः अर्थः) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• तत्: that (act/thing)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कर्तुम्: to do
• कर्तुम्: Kriya-artha (Infinitival purpose/क्रियार्थ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः

• युज्यते: is proper/is appropriate
• युज्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• शुभाः: the good (people)
• शुभाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेष्यरूपेण (as persons)

• आत्मप्राणहितार्थाय: for the sake of one’s own life/welfare
• आत्मप्राणहितार्थाय: Sampradana (Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् + प्राण + हित + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; समासः—(आत्मनः प्राणहितस्य अर्थः) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negative particle)

• साधूनाम्: of the virtuous
• साधूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• प्रशस्यते: is praised/approved
• प्रशस्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शंस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

Speaker

Nandinī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sakhyaḥ (companions)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nandinī addresses a group of companions at a sacred setting, teaching that acts for others’ survival are righteous, while self-serving acts are not praised by the virtuous.

Characters & Entities

• Nandinī
• sādhavaḥ (the virtuous)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Altruism is higher dharma: actions done to sustain others are praised, while selfish preservation alone is not the ideal of the sādhus.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supplies the dharmic ethos that undergirds the chapter’s Mahātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it teaches a principle of motivation in dharma (para-hita vs. ātma-hita).