Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तस्मादद्य दिनादूर्ध्वं यदि कश्चिन्निशाचरः । समुद्रस्योत्तरं पारं कथंचिदागमिष्यति

Transliteration

tasmādadya dinādūrdhvaṃ yadi kaścinniśācaraḥ | samudrasyottaraṃ pāraṃ kathaṃcidāgamiṣyati

Translation

Par conséquent, à partir de ce jour même, si un rôdeur de la nuit (rākṣasa) devait d'une manière ou d'une autre atteindre la rive nord au-delà de l'océan...

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore, from that
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादान/हेतुवाचक (from that/therefore)

• adya: today, now
• adya: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (today/now)

• dināt: from the day
• dināt: Apādāna (Starting point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; ‘दिनात् ऊर्ध्वम्’ इति काल-अपादान

• ūrdhvam: afterwards, henceforth
• ūrdhvam: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ūrdhva (अव्ययभावे)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/दिशावाचक (afterwards/upwards)

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तवाचक (if)

• kaścit: someone, any
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ka (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + cit (निपात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (someone)

• niśācaraḥ: night-wanderer (demon)
• niśācaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśācara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• samudrasya: of the ocean
• samudrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• uttaram: northern, further
• uttaram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (northern/further)

• pāram: far shore
• pāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• kathaṃcit: somehow
• kathaṃcit: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय) + cit (निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; अनिश्चित-प्रकारवाचक (somehow/by any means)

• āgamiṣyati: will come, will reach
• āgamiṣyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु √gam/गम्)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Kuśa (king) (contextual, inferred)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A commander issues a proclamation at a shoreline: waves crash; a line is drawn in sand/marked by standards; scouts watch the horizon for any rākṣasa crossing; the mood is tense and vigilant.

Characters & Entities

• Niśācara (rākṣasa)
• Samudra (ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames dharma as setting boundaries against destructive forces, echoing the protective dimension of tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu (Rāma-setu) and the Rāmeśvara region, indicated by the ocean-shore geography in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this half-conditional statement; it is part of a narrative vow/threat.