Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

कथयामास तत्सर्वं दमयंत्याः समुद्भवम् । वृत्तांतं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठास्तस्याः शापसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

kathayāmāsa tatsarvaṃ damayaṃtyāḥ samudbhavam | vṛttāṃtaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāstasyāḥ śāpasamudbhavam

Translation

Les plus éminents brāhmanes rapportèrent toute l’affaire—comment elle était née en lien avec Damayantī—et le récit de la malédiction tombée sur elle.

Word by Word

• कथयामास: told, narrated
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• दमयंत्याः: of Damayantī
• दमयंत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दमयन्ती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन (singular)

• समुद्भवम्: origin, arising
• समुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• वृत्तान्तम्: account, narrative
• वृत्तान्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्तान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: the best of the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative), बहुवचन (plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brāhmaṇānāṃ śreṣṭhāḥ)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन (singular)

• शापसमुद्भवम्: the origin arising from a curse
• शापसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाप + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śāpasya samudbhavaḥ)

Speaker

Narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya (exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame) / or the immediate royal audience (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of venerable brāhmaṇas recounts Damayantī’s curse-origin story to attentive listeners; palm-leaf manuscripts, sacrificial implements, and a solemn atmosphere of disclosure.

Characters & Entities

• Damayantī
• Brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas preserve dharma through remembered exemplars: recounting curse-origins teaches ethical causality and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is praised in this verse; it supplies narrative background within the tīrtha chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse focuses on narration of events and the curse’s origin.