Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

न स्नानं न च दानं च लोकयात्रां विशेषतः । व्यवहारं न कृत्यं च किंचिद्धर्मसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

na snānaṃ na ca dānaṃ ca lokayātrāṃ viśeṣataḥ | vyavahāraṃ na kṛtyaṃ ca kiṃciddharmasamudbhavam

Translation

Il n’y avait ni bain rituel, ni aumône, et surtout plus aucun cours ordinaire de la vie publique ; ni échanges, ni devoirs : rien de ce qui naît du dharma n’était accompli.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• दानम्: giving/charity
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• लोकयात्राम्: worldly routine/maintenance of life
• लोकयात्राम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक + यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (लोकस्य यात्रा = worldly conduct/maintenance)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘especially/in particular’

• व्यवहारम्: transactions/legal dealings
• व्यवहारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यवहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• कृत्यम्: duty/obligatory act
• कृत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• किंचित्: anything
• किंचित्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (निपात)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (anything)

• धर्मसमुद्भवम्: arising from dharma (righteous)
• धर्मसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (धर्मात् समुद्भवम् = arising from dharma), किंचित् इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, contextually Sūta-like narration within Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A deserted ghat/riverbank with still waters, no bathers, no alms-giving; marketplaces closed; roads empty—an eerie pause in both pilgrimage and civic life under a sunless sky.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma sustains both ritual and society; when time and order are disturbed, even basic virtues like charity and purity-practices decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha narrative context; it does not name the location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) and dāna (charity) are mentioned as practices that cease during the disruption.