Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचुः । यदा दक्षेण क्रुद्धेन पुरा शप्तो हिमद्युतिः । तत्सर्वं भवता प्रोक्तं सोमनाथकथानकम्

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | yadā dakṣeṇa kruddhena purā śapto himadyutiḥ | tatsarvaṃ bhavatā proktaṃ somanāthakathānakam

Translation

Les sages dirent : «Lorsque jadis Dakṣa, courroucé, maudit le radieux Soma—tout cela, tu l’as déjà raconté : le récit sacré de Somanātha.»

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: the sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• ऊचुः: said
• ऊचुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• यदा: when
• यदा: Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-सम्बन्धसूचक (temporal conjunction)

• दक्षेण: by Dakṣa
• दक्षेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• क्रुद्धेन: angry
• क्रुद्धेन: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (दक्षेण)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• शप्तः: cursed
• शप्तः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (हिमद्युतिः)

• हिमद्युतिः: Himadyuti (the moon; ‘snow-bright’)
• हिमद्युतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिम + द्युति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—हिम इव द्युतिः यस्य (कर्मधारयः/बहुव्रीहि-प्रायः; here as proper epithet)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (तत्)

• भवता: by you (honorific)
• भवता: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम

• प्रोक्तम्: told / explained
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) + प्र (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; here agrees with ‘तत् सर्वम्’ (object) as ‘(has been) told’

• सोमनाथकथानकम्: the tale of Somanātha
• सोमनाथकथानकम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमनाथ + कथानक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (contextually appositive to तत्सर्वम्), एकवचन; समासः—सोमनाथस्य कथानकम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somanātha (invoked)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣayaḥ (sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of sages addresses the narrator, recalling the earlier told story of Soma’s curse by Dakṣa; in the background, a vision of the moon-god and the Somanātha liṅga/temple by the sea is suggested as the narrative’s destination.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Soma (Himadyuti)
• Somanātha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred history is transmitted through respectful inquiry—pilgrimage lore (māhātmya) is preserved by listening and questioning within dharmic assemblies.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somanātha is referenced as a key sacred locus within the broader tīrtha-narrative stream.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it functions as a conversational bridge acknowledging a previously narrated episode.