Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

नैतौ पुनस्तु दुर्ग्राह्यौ ब्रह्मशाप समुद्भवौ

Transliteration

naitau punastu durgrāhyau brahmaśāpa samudbhavau

Translation

«Mais ces deux-là, en vérité, sont difficiles à conjurer, car ils sont nés de la malédiction de Brahmā».

Word by Word

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

• etau: these two
• etau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) = again/further

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध (particle) = but/indeed

• durgrāhyau: hard to grasp/overcome
• durgrāhyau: Predicative (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + grāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (दुर्ग्राह्य = difficult to seize/overcome)

• brahma-śāpa: a Brahma/Brahmin curse
• brahma-śāpa: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (ब्रह्मणः शापः = curse of a Brahmin/Brahmā)

• samudbhavau: arisen (from it)
• samudbhavau: Predicative (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ud-√bhū (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; भूतकालिक-विशेषण (arisen from)

Speaker

Vyādhayaḥ (or the afflicted party reporting the nature of the ailment), within the narrative to the king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two especially formidable disease-forms stand apart from the others, marked by a Brahmā-associated sign (lotus, four-faced aura) indicating curse-origin; the rest shrink back.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Brahmaśāpa (curse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Some suffering is rooted in deeper karmic/śāpa causes and requires stronger spiritual intervention than ordinary remedies.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya kṣetra, presented as a place where even curse-born afflictions can be addressed through proper rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is named here; it sets up the need for intensified worship and mantra-homa that follows.