Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

दुःशील उवाच । तवादेशः प्रमाणं मे केवलं तापसोत्तम । किं मठेन करिष्यामि विशेषाद्रा त्रिसंगमे

Transliteration

duḥśīla uvāca | tavādeśaḥ pramāṇaṃ me kevalaṃ tāpasottama | kiṃ maṭhena kariṣyāmi viśeṣādrā trisaṃgame

Translation

Duḥśīla dijo: «Tu mandato es para mí la única autoridad, oh el mejor de los ascetas. ¿Qué necesidad tengo de un monasterio, especialmente aquí, en la sagrada confluencia de las tres corrientes?»

Word by Word

• दुःशीलः: Duḥśīla
• दुःशीलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःशील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (singular); वक्तृ-नाम (speaker name)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (singular)

• आदेशः: command
• आदेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (singular)

• प्रमाणम्: authority / proof
• प्रमाणम्: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (singular); विधेय (predicate nominative)

• मे: for me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध) वा चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान) एकवचन; अत्र ‘मे’ = ‘for me / to me’ (dative sense)

• केवलम्: only
• केवलम्: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: केवल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable) used as adverb = ‘only/merely’

• तापस-उत्तम: O best of ascetics
• तापस-उत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (vocative), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (among ascetics, the best)

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (singular); प्रश्न (interrogative)

• मठेन: with a monastery / by a monastery
• मठेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन (singular)

• करिष्यामि: shall I do
• करिष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• विशेषात्: especially
• विशेषात्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोग (indeclinable usage), पञ्चमी-अर्थे (ablatival adverb) = ‘especially’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• त्रि-संगमे: at the threefold confluence
• त्रि-संगमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + संगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (singular); द्विगु-समास (threefold confluence)

Speaker

Duḥśīla

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Trisaṅgama

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Duḥśīla speaks with earnest conviction to the ascetic, hands folded, with the dramatic meeting of three rivers behind them; the monastery appears secondary in the composition, dwarfed by the sacred waters.

Characters & Entities

• Duḥśīla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The disciple affirms guru-ājñā as the highest pramāṇa; obedience is valued even amid the allure of a powerful tīrtha setting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A tri-saṅgama (sacred confluence of three) is referenced as a specially potent tīrtha within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the disciple accepts the guru’s prescribed samaya; the verse itself is a declaration of compliance rather than a new ritual instruction.