Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

वीक्षांचक्रुः समासीनं विषमे गिरिगह्वरे । तेजोहीनं तथा दीनं ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्

Transliteration

vīkṣāṃcakruḥ samāsīnaṃ viṣame girigahvare | tejohīnaṃ tathā dīnaṃ brahmahatyāpariplutam

Translation

They saw him seated in a rugged mountain-cave—bereft of radiance, wretched, and overwhelmed by the taint of brahmahatyā (the sin of slaying a brāhmaṇa).

Word by Word

• वीक्षाम्: a look, sight
• वीक्षाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (आकर्मक-प्रयोगे)

• चक्रुः: they did/made (i.e., they looked)
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• समासीनम्: seated
• समासीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आस् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘seated’

• विषमे: in a difficult/uneven (place)
• विषमे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• गिरिगह्वरे: in a mountain-cave/cleft
• गिरिगह्वरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक) + गह्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तेजोहीनम्: devoid of splendor
• तेजोहीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक) + हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘tejas’-विहीन); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• दीनम्: wretched, miserable
• दीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्: overwhelmed/covered by brahma-slaying sin
• ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + परिप्लुत (प्रातिपदिक/क्त)
• Form: तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (ब्रह्महत्यया परिप्लुतः); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: cave

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate mountain ravine with a dark cave; Indra sits collapsed, aura extinguished, body marked by impurity; distant gods peer in alarm from the cave-mouth’s edge.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Brahmahatyā (sin)
• Giri-gahvara (mountain cave)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sin diminishes spiritual radiance; Purāṇic dharma emphasizes acknowledgment of fault and seeking purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse mentions a mountain cavern in an ocean-mountain setting; the named tīrtha is not specified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse introduces the condition (brahmahatyā) that typically requires tīrtha-snāna and prāyaścitta.