Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततः शुश्राव तापस्यश्चतस्रोऽत्र सुनिःस्पृहाः । वल्कलाजिनधारिण्यो न तस्याः पार्श्वमागताः । न चान्या भूषिता दृष्ट्वा चक्रुरीर्ष्यां कथंचन

Transliteration

tataḥ śuśrāva tāpasyaścatasro'tra suniḥspṛhāḥ | valkalājinadhāriṇyo na tasyāḥ pārśvamāgatāḥ | na cānyā bhūṣitā dṛṣṭvā cakrurīrṣyāṃ kathaṃcana

Translation

Entonces se oyó que aquí había cuatro mujeres ascetas, del todo desapegadas, vestidas con corteza y piel de antílope, que no se acercaron a su lado. Y las demás mujeres, aun viendo a algunas adornadas, no sintieron celos de modo alguno.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/देश-कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: ‘ततः/then, thereafter’

• śuśrāva: heard
• śuśrāva: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tāpasyaḥ: female ascetics
• tāpasyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• catasraḥ: four
• catasraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catasṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = indeclinable adverb of place

• su-niḥspṛhāḥ: very desireless/without longing
• su-niḥspṛhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + niḥspṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; गुणवाचक विशेषण

• valkala-ajina-dhāriṇyaḥ: wearing bark-garments and deer-skins
• valkala-ajina-dhāriṇyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of tāpasyaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: valkala (प्रातिपदिक) + ajina (प्रातिपदिक) + dhāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘वल्कलम् अजिनं च धारयन्ती’

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pārśvam: side/nearby
• pārśvam: Karma (Object/goal with motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• āgatāḥ: came/approached
• āgatāḥ: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + gam (धातु)
• Form: कृत्-प्रत्यय: क्त (भूतकर्मणि/PPP), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘आगत’ = having come

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• anyāḥ: other (women)
• anyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bhūṣitāḥ: adorned
• bhūṣitāḥ: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhūṣ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्: क्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘भूषिता’ = adorned

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (अव्ययभाव/gerund), ‘दृष्ट्वा’ = having seen

• cakruḥ: did/made
• cakruḥ: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• īrṣyām: jealousy/envy
• īrṣyām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īrṣyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kathaṃcana: in any way/at all
• kathaṃcana: Kriya-visheshana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃcana (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) = indeclinable adverb; ‘कथंचन’ = in any way/at all

Speaker

Narrator (specific speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four ascetic women in bark garments and antelope skins stand apart, serene and desireless; nearby, other women—some adorned—look on without envy, the atmosphere calm and purified.

Characters & Entities

• tāpasyaḥ (female ascetics)
• valkala (bark garment)
• ajina (antelope skin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It praises niḥspṛhatā (desirelessness) and anīrṣyā (freedom from jealousy), key virtues supporting tīrtha-dharma and inner purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This shloka does not identify a specific tīrtha by name; it contributes to the broader Tīrthamāhātmya ethos of purity and virtue.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; ascetic markers (valkala, ajina) and ethical disciplines (non-attachment, non-envy) are emphasized.