Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अहंकारसमाक्रांता मुनयो विजितेंद्रियाः । धर्ममार्गं परित्यज्य कुर्वत्युन्मार्गजां क्रियाम्

Transliteration

ahaṃkārasamākrāṃtā munayo vijiteṃdriyāḥ | dharmamārgaṃ parityajya kurvatyunmārgajāṃ kriyām

Translation

Subjugués par l’ego, même les sages ascètes qui ont vaincu les sens peuvent délaisser la voie du dharma et accomplir des actes issus du mauvais chemin.

Word by Word

• अहंकारसमाक्रान्ताः: overpowered by ego
• अहंकारसमाक्रान्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहंकार + समा-√क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• मुनयः: sages
• मुनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• विजितेन्द्रियाः: having conquered the senses
• विजितेन्द्रियाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-√जि (धातु) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘विजित’ + ‘इन्द्रिय’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• धर्ममार्गम्: the path of dharma
• धर्ममार्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having abandoned’

• कुर्वन्ति: they do, perform
• कुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• उन्मार्गजाम्: born of the wrong path, misguided
• उन्मार्गजाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत् + मार्ग + ज (प्रातिपदिक; ‘उन्मार्ग’ + ‘ज’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्रियाम्: action, rite
• क्रियाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of austere sages with matted hair and deer-skins; a dark, smoky aura labeled ‘ahaṅkāra’ presses upon them as they step off a luminous ‘dharma-mārga’ into a thorny side-path of ‘unmārga-kriyā’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ego is a subtle danger: even advanced practitioners can fall from dharma if ahaṃkāra takes over.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse serves as a cautionary teaching within a tīrtha-oriented chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No positive rite is prescribed; the instruction is to avoid ego-driven ‘wrong-path’ practices and remain aligned with dharma.