Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तासां तु पूर्वया कामं हंति पृच्छाप्रदायिनाम् । द्वितीयया तथा क्रोधं हंति लोभं तृतीयया

Transliteration

tāsāṃ tu pūrvayā kāmaṃ haṃti pṛcchāpradāyinām | dvitīyayā tathā krodhaṃ haṃti lobhaṃ tṛtīyayā

Translation

Parmi ces trois, par la première le désir est apaisé chez ceux qui doivent répondre à la demande; par la seconde la colère est apaisée; par la troisième l’avidité est apaisée.

Word by Word

• tāsām: of those (three)
• tāsām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/विशेष) = adversative/emphatic particle

• pūrvayā: by the first (one)
• pūrvayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (पूर्वा = first)

• kāmam: desire
• kāmam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• hanti: destroys/removes
• hanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्-धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• pṛcchā-pradāyinām: of the questioners
• pṛcchā-pradāyinām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛcchā (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāyin (प्र-दा-धातु, णिनि/इन्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्; समासः = तत्पुरुष (पृच्छां प्रदायिनः = those who give/pose questions)

• dvitīyayā: by the second (one)
• dvitīyayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (second)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Prakāra (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकार/समुच्चय) = ‘thus/likewise’

• krodham: anger
• krodham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• hanti: destroys/removes
• hanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्-धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• lobham: greed
• lobham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• tṛtīyayā: by the third (one)
• tṛtīyayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (third)

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pṛcchā-pradāyinaḥ (those who answer/respond) and the brāhmaṇa assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic triad: three calming seals/gestures applied to the assembly—first dissolving desire (soft white light), second cooling anger (blue शांत aura), third loosening greed (golden knots untied). Respondents become composed and truthful.

Characters & Entities

• kāma
• krodha
• lobha
• tālatraya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual etiquette is also moral training: structured giving restrains desire, anger, and greed, preserving purity in sacred deliberations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies the dharmic culture of the Brahmaśālā/tīrtha assembly by showing how it curbs inner faults.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The ‘tālatraya’ is a threefold offering/token, each part intended to pacify a specific fault—kāma, krodha, and lobha.