Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततो दुःखपरीतात्मा भक्त्या परमया युतः । तां दिशं प्रणिपत्योच्चैर्जगाम निजमंदिरम्

Transliteration

tato duḥkhaparītātmā bhaktyā paramayā yutaḥ | tāṃ diśaṃ praṇipatyoccairjagāma nijamaṃdiram

Translation

Alors, l’âme envahie de peine mais unie à la dévotion suprême, il se prosterna avec respect vers cette direction et retourna à sa demeure.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'then/thereafter'

• duḥkha-parīta-ātmā: sorrow-stricken
• duḥkha-parīta-ātmā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha-parīta-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष: दुःखेन परीतः आत्मा यस्य/यः = 'whose self is overcome by sorrow' (बहुव्रीह्यर्थेऽपि प्रयुज्यते)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — 'with devotion'

• paramayā: supreme
• paramayā: Karana (Instrument-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — 'supreme' (qualifying bhaktyā)

• yutaḥ: endowed (with)
• yutaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yuj (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'joined/endowed (with)'

• tām: that
• tām: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — 'that' (qualifying diśam)

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — 'direction'

• praṇipatya: having prostrated
• praṇipatya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव-रूप) — 'having bowed down/prostrated'

• uccaiḥ: aloud, loudly
• uccaiḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uccaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — 'aloud/highly'

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'he went'

• nija-mandiram: his own abode/temple
• nija-mandiram: Karma (Goal as object/गन्तव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija-mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय: निजं मन्दिरम् = 'his own temple/abode'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (directional reverence)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee, sorrowful yet resolute, prostrates toward the snow-covered sacred direction, then turns back toward his home, carrying devotion inward.

Characters & Entities

• Bhakti
• Direction of the Deity/Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when sorrowful or separated from immediate darśana, a devotee keeps reverence alive through humble salutation and steadfast bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Himalayan tīrtha-direction referenced in the surrounding verses of Nāgarakhaṇḍa 122.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional act: bowing/prostrating toward the sacred direction associated with the deity/tīrtha.