Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

किं मयैतत्सुमूर्खेण वांछितं दुर्लभं पदम् । तत्प्रभावेन विभ्रष्टः कुलधर्मोऽपि मे स्वकः

Transliteration

kiṃ mayaitatsumūrkheṇa vāṃchitaṃ durlabhaṃ padam | tatprabhāvena vibhraṣṭaḥ kuladharmo'pi me svakaḥ

Translation

« Pourquoi ai-je, insensé que je suis, désiré cet état inaccessible ? Par la force de ce désir, même mon propre dharma ancestral m'a échappé. »

Word by Word

• kim: what?
• kim: Karma (object; 'what has been desired')
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (agent of desiring)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying padam)

• su-mūrkhena: by (a) very foolish (person)
• su-mūrkhena: Karta (agent; appositional to mayā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mūrkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (su-mūrkha = very foolish)

• vāñchitam: desired
• vāñchitam: Karma (predicate of padam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāñch (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here predicate with padam (desired)

• durlabham: hard to obtain
• durlabham: Karma-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying padam)

• padam: state/position/abode
• padam: Karma (object; goal/state)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tat-prabhāvena: by/through its power
• tat-prabhāvena: Karaṇa/Hetu (cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tasya prabhāvaḥ)

• vibhraṣṭaḥ: fallen away, deviated
• vibhraṣṭaḥ: Karta (subject; 'I/he' implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + bhraṃś (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kula-dharmaḥ: family duty/tradition
• kula-dharmaḥ: Karta (subject of implied 'is lost')
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kulasya dharmaḥ)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha-dyotaka (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चय/अपि-कार (particle: 'even/also')

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• svakaḥ: one's own
• svakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying kula-dharmaḥ)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; the afflicted person’s self-lament within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of the man’s face in remorse, eyes lowered; a faint ancestral line is suggested behind him (shadowy elders/ritual fire) fading as he laments loss of kuladharma.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked ambition or misguided longing can erode one’s dharma; recognition of error is the first step toward restoration through repentance and right practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides the ethical backdrop typical of Māhātmya narratives that later direct the seeker toward a sanctified remedy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse implies the need for corrective dharma—often expressed later as prāyaścitta, dāna, and tīrtha-snāna.