Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

न करिष्यथ चेद्वाक्यमेतदस्मदुदीरितम् । सर्वाः प्राणपरित्यागं करिष्यामो न संशयः

Transliteration

na kariṣyatha cedvākyametadasmadudīritam | sarvāḥ prāṇaparityāgaṃ kariṣyāmo na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

Si vous n'exécutez pas cette instruction que nous avons prononcée, alors nous abandonnerons toutes notre vie ; cela ne fait aucun doute.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) = negation particle

• kariṣyatha: you will do
• kariṣyatha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/conditional particle) = if

• vākyam: the statement/command
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (demonstrative)

• asmat-udīritam: uttered by us
• asmat-udīritam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asmat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + udīrita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘अस्मद्’ षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (by us) + ‘उदीरित’ (उद्+ईर्/ईर् धातोः क्त/क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle)

• sarvāḥ: all (we women)
• sarvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• prāṇa-parityāgam: abandoning life; giving up the breath
• prāṇa-parityāgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + parityāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्राणानां परित्यागः)

• kariṣyāmaḥ: we will do
• kariṣyāmaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: no/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Sambandha (Predicate nominal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in the excerpt (women of the Damayanty narrative, addressing the brahmins/sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Women or petitioners confront authorities with a solemn vow: if the instruction is not followed, they will renounce life—faces resolute, atmosphere tense, sacred waterbody nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• Damayantī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Firm resolve in dharma and truth is portrayed as powerful—even life itself is offered to uphold a moral demand.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The wider passage belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa (Tīrthamāhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a moral ultimatum within the narrative.