Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

कुलीनानां च शुद्धानां स्वजात्यानां विशेषतः । त्वं कुरुष्व पराणां च यदि कामवशं गतः

Transliteration

kulīnānāṃ ca śuddhānāṃ svajātyānāṃ viśeṣataḥ | tvaṃ kuruṣva parāṇāṃ ca yadi kāmavaśaṃ gataḥ

Translation

Surtout envers les femmes nobles et pures, et plus encore de ta propre communauté—si tu es tombé sous l’empire du désir, ne fais pas cela aux autres.

Word by Word

• kulīnānām: of noble-born (people)
• kulīnānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kulīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (pl); विशेषण

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

• śuddhānām: of pure (people)
• śuddhānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (pl); विशेषण

• svajātyānām: of one’s own caste/kin-group
• svajātyānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: स्वस्य जातिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f), षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (pl)

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘विशेषतः’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

• kuruṣva: do; act
• kuruṣva: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन (sg); आत्मनेपद

• parāṇām: of others
• parāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m), षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (pl)

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

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तबोधक (conditional particle)

• kāma-vaśam: under the control of desire
• kāma-vaśam: Gati/Karma (Goal as object/गति-विशेष, कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + vaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: कामस्य वशः); पुंलिङ्ग (m), द्वितीया (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg)

• gataḥ: having gone; having fallen into
• gataḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त (past active participle in sense of ‘gone’); पुंलिङ्ग (m), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg)

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A counselor-like figure admonishes a desire-struck man: one hand points to a group of dignified women under protection (symbol of ‘kulīna-śuddha’), the other hand gestures ‘stop’; behind, a faint image of Kāma with bow suggests temptation subdued by dharma.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desire must be governed by dharma; harming households and violating social trust destroys merit and spiritual standing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it is moral instruction within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an admonition about conduct.