Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

षंढकश्चित्पुमानत्र सम्यग्वेषकरो हि सः । मम वेषं समाधाय भ्रमते सकले पुरे

Transliteration

ṣaṃḍhakaścitpumānatra samyagveṣakaro hi saḥ | mama veṣaṃ samādhāya bhramate sakale pure

Translation

Ici se trouve un certain eunuque, un homme fort habile à prendre des déguisements. Revêtant mon apparence, il erre dans toute la cité.

Word by Word

• ṣaṃḍhakaḥ: a eunuch
• ṣaṃḍhakaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṃḍhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cit: some
• cit: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cit (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (indefinite particle: ‘some’)

• pumān: man
• pumān: Kartā (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• samyak: properly
• samyak: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: properly)

• veṣa-karaḥ: a maker of disguises
• veṣa-karaḥ: Kartā (Predicate noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (‘maker of disguise’)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis/causal particle)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• veṣam: disguise/attire
• veṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samādhāya: having assumed/put on
• samādhāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• bhramate: wanders
• bhramate: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sakale: in the whole
• sakale: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘entire’ (qualifying pure)

• pure: in the city
• pure: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A warning is delivered: a skilled disguise-maker, though a eunuch, can assume the brāhmaṇa’s exact appearance and wander the city, sowing confusion; the cityscape becomes a stage of doubles.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Impersonation and deception are portrayed as destabilizing forces that must be recognized and restrained to protect dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as narrative setup within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a person skilled in disguise roaming the city.