Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

कृषिकर्मरता नित्यं वैश्यवत्पशुपालकाः । वैश्याः सर्वे समुच्छेदं प्रयाता धरणीतले

Transliteration

kṛṣikarmaratā nityaṃ vaiśyavatpaśupālakāḥ | vaiśyāḥ sarve samucchedaṃ prayātā dharaṇītale

Translation

Ceux qui s’adonnent sans cesse à l’agriculture et à l’élevage ne vivent plus que comme des vaiśyas; et sur la terre, la classe vaiśya, en tant que telle, s’est entièrement amoindrie jusqu’à disparaître.

Word by Word

• kṛṣi-karma-ratāḥ: engaged in agricultural work
• kṛṣi-karma-ratāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + rata (कृदन्त; √ram रम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—vaiśyāḥ

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• vaiśya-vat-paśu-pālakāḥ: herders like (mere) vaiśyas
• vaiśya-vat-paśu-pālakāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित-प्रत्यय; ‘like’) + paśu (प्रातिपदिक) + pālaka (प्रातिपदिक; √pāl पाल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—vaiśyāḥ

• vaiśyāḥ: vaiśyas
• vaiśyāḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—vaiśyāḥ

• samucchedam: destruction/ruin
• samucchedam: Karman (Object/Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samuccheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• prayātāḥ: have gone/come to
• prayātāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/State)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु) + yāta (कृदन्त; past participle)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘गताḥ/प्राप्ताः’ इत्यर्थे, कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• dharaṇī-tale: on the surface of the earth
• dharaṇī-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Fields and cattle pens dominate the landscape; merchants’ stalls are empty, caravans absent—symbolizing the fading of a distinct mercantile class and the narrowing of economic diversity.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Vaiśyas
• Dharaṇī (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharmic roles and responsibilities erode, social harmony weakens—prompting a return to righteous conduct and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is identified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes social conditions rather than a rite.