Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अपचन्यावदग्नौ तं क्षुधया परिपीडिताः । वृषादर्भिर्नृपः प्राप्तः श्रुत्वा तेषां विचेष्टितम्

Transliteration

apacanyāvadagnau taṃ kṣudhayā paripīḍitāḥ | vṛṣādarbhirnṛpaḥ prāptaḥ śrutvā teṣāṃ viceṣṭitam

Translation

Afligidos por el hambre, comenzaron a cocinarlo al fuego; entonces llegó el rey Vṛṣādarbhī, al oír su espantosa acción.

Word by Word

• apacanya: (unclear) for cooking
• apacanya: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: apacanya (अव्यय/पद)
• Form: अव्यय (uncertain reading); सम्भाव्यं ‘अपचनीयम्/अपच्य’ इत्यर्थे (to be cooked/for cooking) — पाठभेदसम्भवः

• avat: as/like
• avat: Sambandha (Comparison/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vat (अव्यय/उपमा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (comparative particle): इव/वत् (like/as)

• agnau: in the fire
• agnau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tam: him/that (boy)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kṣudhayā: by hunger
• kṣudhayā: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• paripīḍitāḥ: afflicted/tormented
• paripīḍitāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari + pīḍ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (they being afflicted)

• vṛṣādarbhīḥ: by Vṛṣādarbhī
• vṛṣādarbhīḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣādarbhī (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; नाम (by Vṛṣādarbhī)

• nṛpaḥ: the king
• nṛpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• prāptaḥ: arrived
• prāptaḥ: Kriya (Main predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + āp (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘arrived’

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya-viseshana (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śru (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): श्रुत्वा (having heard)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• viceṣṭitam: the conduct/deed
• viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi + ceṣṭ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘act/behavior’ (object of śrutvā)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; unspecified in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Starving men place the child on a fire to cook; at that moment King Vṛṣādarbhī arrives, alarmed, witnessing the atrocity.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛṣādarbhī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Royal dharma includes protecting moral order; a righteous king intervenes when even sages falter under distress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it advances the episode that culminates in tīrtha-related purification teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly introduces the need for correction and expiation; explicit prescriptions appear in subsequent dialogue.