Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अस्ति कश्चिदुपायोऽत्र दैवो वा मानुषोऽपि वा । भेषजं वाऽथ मंत्रो वा येन कुष्ठं प्रशाम्यति

Transliteration

asti kaścidupāyo'tra daivo vā mānuṣo'pi vā | bheṣajaṃ vā'tha maṃtro vā yena kuṣṭhaṃ praśāmyati

Translation

Existe-t-il ici un remède, divin ou humain, un médicament ou un mantra, par lequel cette lèpre puisse être apaisée ?

Word by Word

• asti: there is
• asti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: अस् (as) धातु, लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्

• kaścit: some
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite pronoun)

• upāyaḥ: means/remedy
• upāyaḥ: Karta (Predicate/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb ‘here’)

• daivaḥ: divine
• daivaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

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

• mānuṣaḥ: human
• mānuṣaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (particle ‘also/even’)

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

• bheṣajam: medicine
• bheṣajam: Karta (Option item/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheṣaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular); विकल्पे सूची (as an option)

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

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/प्रस्तावार्थक-अव्यय (then/and further)

• mantraḥ: mantra
• mantraḥ: Karta (Option item/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

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

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक (masc/neut), तृतीया विभक्ति (instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular); सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• kuṣṭham: leprosy/skin disease
• kuṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• praśāmyati: subsides/is pacified
• praśāmyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śam (धातु)
• Form: प्र + शम् (śam) धातु, लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Cāmatkāra (king) (deduced from narrative context: afflicted ruler seeking cure)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkhatīrtha / Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied interlocutors: brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhas / sages encountered in the kṣetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king, marked by leprosy, pleads before learned brāhmaṇas or a sage near a sacred spot, hands folded, asking for any mantra/medicine—divine or human—to calm the disease.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṣṭha (disease)
• Medicine (bheṣaja)
• Mantra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering becomes a catalyst for dharmic inquiry; the Purāṇas validate seeking help while preparing the mind for grace beyond ordinary means.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not stated in this verse; it functions as a narrative question that leads into the revelation of a specific efficacious tīrtha (Śaṅkhatīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No fixed ritual is prescribed; the verse mentions two remedial paths broadly—medicine and mantra.