Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

अन्यस्मिन्नपि भोक्तव्यं न नरेण विजानता । किं पुनः शयनं यत्र कुरुते यत्र बोधनम्

Transliteration

anyasminnapi bhoktavyaṃ na nareṇa vijānatā | kiṃ punaḥ śayanaṃ yatra kurute yatra bodhanam

Translation

A discerning man should not eat even on other sacred occasions—how much more so at the place where He lies down to sleep and where He is awakened.

Word by Word

• anyasmin: on another (day)
• anyasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/Napuṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (sg.), qualifying implied 'ahani/kāle'

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle: even/also)

• bhoktavyam: should be eaten
• bhoktavyam: Kriyā (Predicative obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √bhuj (धातु) + bhoktavya (कृदन्त, तव्यत्)
• Form: Tavyat-gerundive (तव्यत्, obligation), Napuṃsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (sg.); impersonal construction: 'it is to be eaten'

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-nipāta (negation/निषेध)

• nareṇa: by a man
• nareṇa: Kartṛ (Agent/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (sg.)

• vijānātā: by one who knows, by the discerning
• vijānātā: Kartṛ (Agent/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi + √jñā (धातु) + vijānātṛ (प्रातिपदिक, agent noun)
• Form: Kartṛ-nāman (agent noun), Puṃliṅga (m.), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (sg.), agreeing with nareṇa (instrumental of agent: 'by a knowing man')

• kim: what (then)?
• kim: Viṣaya (Topic/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative pronoun used rhetorically, Napuṃsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative (contextual), Ekavacana (sg.)

• punaḥ: then, moreover (how much more)
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Discourse adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla/anuvṛtti-avyaya (adverb: again/further; here: 'how much more')

• śayanam: sleeping, lying down
• śayanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (sg.)

• yatra: where (in which case)
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Relative adverb (स्थानवाचक अव्यय)

• kurute: does, performs
• kurute: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (present), Ātmanepada, Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana (sg.)

• yatra: where (in which case)
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Relative adverb (स्थानवाचक अव्यय)

• bodhanam: waking (up)
• bodhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (sg.)

Speaker

Narrative voice (contextual instruction within Tīrthamāhātmya; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śayana-sthāna / Bodhana-sthāna of Janārdana (within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A temple precinct marked as the ‘sleeping’ and ‘awakening’ place of Hari; a discerning pilgrim refrains from eating, hands folded, while priests prepare for bodhana rites.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (implied)
• Śayana
• Bodhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places intensify dharma: restraint expected generally becomes even more essential at the deity’s most sanctified ritual locale.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the specific locale where Hari’s śayana and bodhana are commemorated—identified in the chapter as Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not eat (observe fasting/strict restraint), especially at the śayana–bodhana tīrtha.