Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

अपि स्याच्छीतलो वह्निश्चंद्रमा दहनात्मकः । क्षाराब्दिरपि मिष्टः स्यान्न कामी लज्जते ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

api syācchītalo vahniścaṃdramā dahanātmakaḥ | kṣārābdirapi miṣṭaḥ syānna kāmī lajjate dhruvam

Translation

Le feu pourrait devenir frais, la lune pourrait brûler, et l’océan salé pourrait devenir doux—mais celui que gouverne la luxure, assurément, ne connaît pas la honte.

Word by Word

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), सम्भावना/अपि-भाव (even/also)

• syāt: might be; could become
• syāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg); परस्मैपद

• śītalaḥ: cool
• śītalaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śītala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg); विशेषण

• vahniḥ: fire
• vahniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• candramāḥ: the moon
• candramāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candramas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

• dahana-ātmakaḥ: of burning nature
• dahana-ātmakaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dahana (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भाव: ‘दहनः आत्मा यस्य/दहनस्वभावः’); पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg); विशेषण

• kṣāra-abdiḥ: the salty ocean
• kṣāra-abdiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣāra (प्रातिपदिक) + abdi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘क्षारः अब्धिः’ = salty ocean); पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), अपि (even/also)

• miṣṭaḥ: sweet
• miṣṭaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: miṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg); विशेषण

• syāt: might be
• syāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg); परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• kāmī: a lustful man; one driven by desire
• kāmī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

• lajjate: feels shame
• lajjate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: lajj (लज्ज् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg); आत्मनेपद

• dhruvam: certainly; surely
• dhruvam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणवत् अव्ययप्रयोग; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n) प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual speaker within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya dialogue)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: fire rendered cool (blue flames), the moon emitting heat (red halo), and the salt ocean turning sweet (lotus-filled waters), while a man driven by lust stands unashamed amid disapproving onlookers—symbolizing moral inversion greater than cosmic inversion.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses that lust hardens the conscience; without inner restraint, outer piety becomes hollow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this single verse; it serves as moral instruction within a pilgrimage-glorification section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the emphasis is on internal reform (lajjā and control over kāma).