Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

अधमा मर्त्यलोकेत्र रमंते विषयात्मकाः । विषकीटकवत्तत्र रतिं कृत्वा गरीयसीम्

Transliteration

adhamā martyaloketra ramaṃte viṣayātmakāḥ | viṣakīṭakavattatra ratiṃ kṛtvā garīyasīm

Translation

Les êtres vils, absorbés par les objets des sens, se complaisent ici dans le monde des mortels. Tels des insectes attirés par le poison, ils y nouent un attachement d’une grande intensité.

Word by Word

• adhamāḥ: the low/mean people
• adhamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• martyaloke: in the mortal world
• martyaloke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martyaloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• ramante: they delight
• ramante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ram (रम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद

• viṣayātmakāḥ: sense-object-oriented
• viṣayātmakāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣaya + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• viṣakīṭakavat: like poisonous insects
• viṣakīṭakavat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viṣa + kīṭaka + vat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमानवाचक (comparative particle ‘like’)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• ratiṃ: delight, attachment
• ratiṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal)

• garīyasīm: greater, more weighty
• garīyasīm: Karma-predicative (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garīyas (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक/Comparative)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (continuing their statement/contextual framing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral allegory: people in a bustling mortal city chase glittering sense-objects; nearby, insects swarm toward a luminous but toxic flower/nectar, symbolizing fatal attraction; a calm ascetic points toward a distant temple/kshetra path.

Characters & Entities

• Martyaloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly attachment can be self-destructive; the text urges discernment and a turn toward dharma and higher goals.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named in this verse; it provides ethical contrast that supports the chapter’s tīrtha-oriented teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; it is a warning against excessive viṣaya-attachment.