Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

न मां वेत्ति स किं मूढः किं वा मृत्यु मभीप्सते

Transliteration

na māṃ vetti sa kiṃ mūḍhaḥ kiṃ vā mṛtyu mabhīpsate

Translation

«¿Acaso ese necio no sabe quién soy, o es que de veras ansía la muerte?»

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), एकवचन, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), उत्तम-पुरुषार्थ (1st person)

• vetti: knows
• vetti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• kim: why/what
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• mūḍhaḥ: a fool, deluded one
• mūḍhaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• kim: why/what
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative)

• abhīpsate: desires, longs for
• abhīpsate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhīps (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Adhaka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Andhaka sneers: ‘Does he not know who I am, or does he desire death?’—a proud taunt that foreshadows his impending humiliation.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ego blinds discernment; challenging divine order out of pride is portrayed as courting destruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this line; it functions within the broader Kāśī–Kailāsa sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.