Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

संसारभ्रमणं नारी प्रथमेऽपि समागमे । वह्निप्रदक्षिणन्यायव्याजेनैव प्रदर्शयेत्

Transliteration

saṃsārabhramaṇaṃ nārī prathame'pi samāgame | vahnipradakṣiṇanyāyavyājenaiva pradarśayet

Translation

Dès la toute première union, la femme fait manifester à l’homme la ‘ronde’ du saṃsāra, sous le prétexte de la règle de tourner autour du feu sacré.

Word by Word

• saṃsāra-bhramaṇam: wandering in saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-bhramaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhramaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative 1st) वा द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (Accusative 2nd), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter); तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी) ‘संसारस्य भ्रमणम्’

• nārī: a woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative 1st), स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine)

• prathame: in the first
• prathame: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative 7th), पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Mas/Neut); विशेषणम् (qualifying samāgame)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-अव्ययम् (particle: ‘even/also’)

• samāgame: in the meeting/union
• samāgame: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative 7th), पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine)

• vahni-pradakṣiṇa-nyāya-vyājena: by the pretext of the rule of circumambulating the fire
• vahni-pradakṣiṇa-nyāya-vyājena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक) + pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nyāya (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनम् (Instrumental 3rd), पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सम्बन्ध) ‘वह्निप्रदक्षिणस्य न्यायः’ इति ‘वह्निप्रदक्षिणन्यायः’, तस्य व्याजः (pretext)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• pradarśayet: should show, should demonstrate
• pradarśayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√dṛś (धातु) (causative sense in context)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (Singular), परस्मैपदम्; प्रेरणार्थक-भावः (should show/should make known)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator voice in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wedding scene around the sacred fire: a couple circumambulates Agni; behind them, a faint cosmic wheel (saṃsāra-cakra) overlays the circle, showing how the ritual circle mirrors existential circling; an ascetic observes with contemplative detachment.

Characters & Entities

• Agni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual and relationship can become a doorway to attachment; one must preserve discernment so rites do not turn into bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse uses a marriage-rite image to teach detachment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Agni-pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation of the sacred fire) is referenced as a customary rite, used here as a metaphor.