Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

कुरु मे निग्रहं नाथ स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवम् । अतिपापस्य दुष्टस्य कृतघ्नस्य रघूत्तम

Transliteration

kuru me nigrahaṃ nātha svāmidrohasamudbhavam | atipāpasya duṣṭasya kṛtaghnasya raghūttama

Translation

Ô Seigneur, châtie-moi pour la faute née de la trahison envers mon maître. Ô le plus éminent des Raghu, je suis immensément pécheur, mauvais et ingrat.

Word by Word

• कुरु: do, perform
• कुरु: Kriya (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘do!’

• मे: for me / on me
• मे: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (enclitic ‘me’), ‘of me/to me’ (contextually: ‘for me/on me’)

• निग्रहम्: punishment, restraint
• निग्रहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — ‘punishment/restraint’

• नाथ: O lord
• नाथ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवम्: born of treachery to my master
• स्वामिद्रोहसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वामि + द्रोह + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—(स्वामि-द्रोह) + समुद्भव = ‘arising from betrayal of (one’s) master’

• अतिपापस्य: of the very sinful one
• अतिपापस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘of the exceedingly sinful (one)’

• दुष्टस्य: of the wicked one
• दुष्टस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — ‘of the wicked’

• कृतघ्नस्य: of the ungrateful one
• कृतघ्नस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतघ्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — ‘of the ungrateful’

• रघूत्तम: O best of the Raghus
• रघूत्तम: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रघु + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—रघु-उत्तम (तत्पुरुष) — ‘best of the Raghu line’

Speaker

Lakṣmaṇa (deduced from immediate continuation where 'lakṣmaṇa uvāca' appears)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gokarṇa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lakṣmaṇa, trembling with remorse, pleads to Rāma: ‘Punish me’; his posture is low and surrendered, emphasizing the moral weight of betrayal and ingratitude.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma begins with accountability—one should confess wrongdoing and accept corrective discipline rather than justify sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter, but this line itself highlights ethical purification rather than naming a particular site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is stated; the shloka expresses a prāyaścitta-minded request for chastisement as purification.