Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तव संलप्स्यते पुत्रो यथोक्तः शूलपाणिना । परं तन्मृत्युजं दुःखं त्वं शिशुत्वेपि लप्स्यसे

Transliteration

tava saṃlapsyate putro yathoktaḥ śūlapāṇinā | paraṃ tanmṛtyujaṃ duḥkhaṃ tvaṃ śiśutvepi lapsyase

Translation

Your son shall indeed be born, as declared by the Trident-bearer (Śiva); yet you will suffer intense sorrow born of death, even while he is still a child.

Word by Word

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• saṃlapsyate: will speak / will utter
• saṃlapsyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ + lap (लप् धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Future/भविष्यत्), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• putraḥ: son
• putraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• yathā: as, according to
• yathā: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकार-अव्यय (adverb: 'as/according to')

• uktaḥ: said
• uktaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate qualifier/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'said/declared'

• śūlapāṇinā: by Śūlapāṇi (Śiva)
• śūlapāṇinā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla + pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'शूलः पाणौ यस्य' (epithet of Śiva)

• param: supreme, intense
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'that'—duḥkham इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• mṛtyujam: born of death, death-caused
• mṛtyujam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'मृत्योः जातम्'

• duḥkham: sorrow, suffering
• duḥkham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• śiśutve: in childhood
• śiśutve: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiśutva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• api: even, also
• api: Emphasis (अवधारण/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (particle: 'also/even')

• lapsyase: you will obtain/experience
• lapsyase: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (लभ् धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Future/भविष्यत्), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Bhagavatī Gaurī (Pārvatī) (continuing the curse statement)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī pronounces a sorrowful curse: the king is shown envisioning a child and the shadow of death; Śiva as Śūlapāṇi stands as witness to the earlier boon.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlapāṇi (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Boons without humility can turn bitter; aparādha invites suffering even amid fulfillment of desires.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not identify a particular sacred site; it advances the moral narrative within the Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse states the consequence (śāpa) tied to devotional misconduct.