Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे प्राप्ताः केचिन्मृत्युवशं गताः । विषसं घूर्णिताः केचित्पतिता धरणीतले

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare prāptāḥ kecinmṛtyuvaśaṃ gatāḥ | viṣasaṃ ghūrṇitāḥ kecitpatitā dharaṇītale

Translation

Cependant, certains tombèrent sous l’emprise de la mort ; d’autres, chancelant sous l’effet du venin, s’effondrèrent sur la surface de la terre.

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• अन्तरे: in the meantime
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• प्राप्ताः: were struck/reached
• प्राप्ताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having reached/affected’

• केचित्: some (people)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक सर्वनाम

• मृत्युवशम्: into death’s power
• मृत्युवशम्: Gati-Karma (Goal/Object of motion/गति-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक) + वश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी: मृत्योः वशः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘under the control of death’

• गताः: went/ended up
• गताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘gone’

• विषेण: by poison
• विषेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• संघूर्णिताः: were made to reel
• संघूर्णिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√घूर्ण् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘made to reel/whirled’

• केचित्: some (others)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पतिताः: fell
• पतिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘fallen’

• धरणीतले: on the surface of the earth
• धरणीतले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी: धरण्याः तलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Nāgara-khaṇḍa; exact speaker not stated in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bodies collapsed on the earth, some supported by relatives; a few victims with pallor and disoriented gaze; serpents nearby; brāhmaṇas chanting or calling out amid chaos.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛtyu (Death)
• Viṣa (venom)
• Pannaga (implied serpents)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked danger and disorder lead to suffering; the Purāṇas often use such crises to point toward re-establishing protection, purity, and dharma in sacred spaces.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The broader adhyāya belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya setting in Nāgara-khaṇḍa, but this individual verse does not specify the tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is explicitly prescribed in this verse.