Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

ततो वैराग्यमापन्नः प्रभ्रमामि धरातले । गुर्वर्थे न च लेभेऽहं गुरुमात्मावलोकने

Transliteration

tato vairāgyamāpannaḥ prabhramāmi dharātale | gurvarthe na ca lebhe'haṃ gurumātmāvalokane

Translation

Alors, saisi de détachement, j’errai sur la terre; pourtant, pour réaliser le Soi (Ātman), je ne parvins pas à obtenir un véritable guru.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमबोधक-अव्यय — ‘then’

• वैराग्यम्: dispassion
• वैराग्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैराग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular (dispassion)

• आपन्नः: having attained
• आपन्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आपद् (धातु) + न (क्त/क्तवत्-भाव)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — past participle ‘having attained/entered’ (agreeing with implicit अहम्)

• प्रभ्रमामि: I wander
• प्रभ्रमामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — Present indicative ‘I wander’ (प्र-उपसर्ग)

• धरातले: on the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘on the earth’s surface’

• गुरु-अर्थे: for (finding) a guru
• गुरु-अर्थे: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘in the matter/purpose of a guru’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय — negation

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय — conjunction

• लेभे: I found
• लेभे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्ष/परिपूर्ण), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect ‘I obtained/found’

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular ‘I’

• गुरुम्: a guru
• गुरुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular (guru)

• आत्म-अवलोकने: in self-realization
• आत्म-अवलोकने: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अवलोकन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘in self-seeing/realization’

Speaker

Narrator (a seeker within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; exact speaker not specified in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dispassionate wanderer walks across varied landscapes—desert, forest, riverbank—carrying a staff; his gaze searches for a teacher; distant silhouettes of āśramas and temples suggest an unending quest.

Characters & Entities

• guru
• vairāgya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dispassion may arise from spiritual frustration, but realization requires the meeting of a competent guru and the right path.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it frames the seeker’s inner condition within a tīrtha-māhātmya storyline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse stresses the necessity of a guru for Self-realization.