Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

विनाशमागता पार्थ कनकानाम नामतः । ततो यतेंद्रियोऽप्येष गृहधर्मविनाशतः

Transliteration

vināśamāgatā pārtha kanakānāma nāmataḥ | tato yateṃdriyo'pyeṣa gṛhadharmavināśataḥ

Translation

Ô Pārtha, celle qui portait le nom de Kanakānāmā alla à la ruine. Dès lors, même cet homme aux sens maîtrisés fut ébranlé, car l’ordre du dharma domestique avait été détruit.

Word by Word

• vināśam: destruction
• vināśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vināśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• āgatā: attained/came to
• āgatā: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āgata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gam (गम्) + क्त, उपसर्ग ā-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘having come/attained’ (predicate participle)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th/संबोधन), एकवचन

• kanakānām: of gold
• kanakānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन — ‘of gold (pieces)’

• nāma: name
• nāma: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Idiomatic/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘name’; here with nāmataḥ = ‘by name’

• nāmatāḥ: by name
• nāmatāḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त) — ‘by name/nominally’

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘thereupon/then’

• yata-indriyaḥ: self-controlled
• yata-indriyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √yam (यम्) + क्त) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — कर्मधारय: ‘यतं इन्द्रियं यस्य’/‘यतेन्द्रियः’ = self-controlled

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘even/also’

• eṣaḥ: this one/he
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• gṛha-dharma-vināśataḥ: because of the destruction of household duty
• gṛha-dharma-vināśataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vināśa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त) — ‘गृहधर्मस्य विनाशः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; तसिल् = ‘because of/from’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (vocative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bereaved householder stands amid a quieted home; the wife’s absence is shown through an empty seat, extinguished lamp, or loosened garland—signifying the ‘undoing’ of household order.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha
• Kanakānāmā
• Nandabhadra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When household supports fall away, even the disciplined are tested; dharma is upheld by inner steadiness, not mere circumstance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates a turning point that prepares for later instruction.