Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

एवमन्नक्षये जाते पीडिते धरणीतले । सप्तर्षयः क्षुधाविष्टा बभ्रमुस्तत्रतत्र च

Transliteration

evamannakṣaye jāte pīḍite dharaṇītale | saptarṣayaḥ kṣudhāviṣṭā babhramustatratatra ca

Translation

Ainsi, lorsque la nourriture fut épuisée et que la surface de la terre fut accablée, les Sept Ṛṣi, saisis par la faim, errèrent de lieu en lieu.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: thus)

• anna-kṣaye: in the depletion of food
• anna-kṣaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (anna-kṣaya: depletion of food)

• jāte: when (it) had occurred
• jāte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• pīḍite: when (it) was afflicted
• pīḍite: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• dharaṇī-tale: on the earth's surface
• dharaṇī-tale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharaṇī-tala: surface of the earth)

• sapta-ṛṣayaḥ: the seven sages
• sapta-ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta (संख्या) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural); समासः—द्विगुः (sapta-ṛṣi: seven sages)

• kṣudhā-viṣṭāḥ: afflicted by hunger
• kṣudhā-viṣṭāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + √viś (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (tṛtīyā/hetu-artha: afflicted by hunger); कृदन्तः—क्त (viṣṭa: entered/possessed)

• babhramuḥ: wandered/roamed
• babhramuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• tatra-tatra: here and there
• tatra-tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्ययम् (reduplicated adverb: here and there)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; unspecified in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Seven sages, thin from fasting and famine, walking in a line across a scorched plain, carrying kamaṇḍalus and staffs, searching for sustenance and a sacred refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Saptarṣi (Seven Sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the greatest ascetics face worldly trials; dharma is tested most sharply during famine and distress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets the narrative backdrop within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the specific tīrtha is developed in the surrounding passage rather than named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the crisis (annakṣaya) that leads to later dharma-instruction.