Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ततः कोपपरीतेन तेन प्रोक्तं महात्मना । रक्तेन क्षत्रियोत्थेन संतर्प्याः पितरो मया

Transliteration

tataḥ kopaparītena tena proktaṃ mahātmanā | raktena kṣatriyotthena saṃtarpyāḥ pitaro mayā

Translation

Then, seized by anger, that great soul declared: “With blood born of the Kṣatriyas shall I satisfy my Pitṛs (ancestral spirits) by the rite of tarpaṇa.”

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपादान/क्रमबोधक (from that/thereafter)

• कोप-परीतेन: by one overcome by anger
• कोप-परीतेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोप + परीत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कोपेन परीतः = आवृतः)

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• प्रोक्तम्: was said
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘उक्तम्’

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana (Agent-in-passive/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महान् आत्मा यस्य)

• रक्तेन: with blood
• रक्तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• क्षत्रिय-उत्थेन: arisen from a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रिय-उत्थेन: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्रिय + उत्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रियात् उत्थम् = उत्पन्नम्)

• संतर्प्याः: to be satisfied/should be propitiated
• संतर्प्याः: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु) → संतर्प्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive; ‘कर्तव्य/योग्य’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇa sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma pronounces a fierce vow: he stands with axe, eyes red with anger; behind him the memory of Jamadagni’s death; spectral pitṛ figures hover; the ‘blood of Kṣatriyas’ is symbolized as a red stream, presented as a grim, cautionary emblem rather than celebratory gore.

Characters & Entities

• Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma)
• Pitṛs
• Kṣatriyas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked anger can shape vows and actions; Purāṇic dharma narratives show how passion (krodha) redirects ritual intent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The vow is part of the Rāmahrada tīrtha legend, which later becomes a sanctified memory in sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It states an individual vow rather than a universal prescription: to satisfy Pitṛs using ‘Kṣatriya-born’ blood.