Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

पश्चात्तपश्चरिष्यामो महामांससमुद्भवम् । पातकं नाशयिष्यामो भक्षयामो वयं ततः

Transliteration

paścāttapaścariṣyāmo mahāmāṃsasamudbhavam | pātakaṃ nāśayiṣyāmo bhakṣayāmo vayaṃ tataḥ

Translation

«Ensuite, nous pratiquerons les austérités (tapas) afin d’effacer le péché né de la chair grossière ; ayant détruit cette faute, alors nous mangerons.»

Word by Word

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb ‘afterwards’

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘tapas’ as object of ‘cariṣyāmaḥ’

• cariṣyāmaḥ: we shall practice
• cariṣyāmaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘we shall practice’

• mahā-māṃsa-samudbhavam: arising from great flesh
• mahā-māṃsa-samudbhavam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) = ‘mahāmāṃsasamudbhava’ (arising from great flesh); विशेषणम् of ‘pātakam’

• pātakam: sin
• pātakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• nāśayiṣyāmaḥ: we shall destroy
• nāśayiṣyāmaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु) (णिच् causative: nāśay-)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच् (causative) = ‘we shall destroy/cause to perish’

• bhakṣayāmaḥ: we shall eat
• bhakṣayāmaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान) रूपे प्रयोगः (contextual future/resolve), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘we eat/shall eat’

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘we’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb ‘then/thereafter’

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of ascetics, having reflected on the sin of gross flesh-eating, resolve to perform austerities; a quiet hermitage near a sacred waterbody, with fire-altars and restrained posture.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification precedes enjoyment: tapas and repentance restore inner order, aligning conduct with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the wider tīrtha-māhātmya theme of purification and moral renewal.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) is prescribed as prāyaścitta to destroy sin arising from forbidden consumption.