Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

विरामं कुरु तस्मात्त्वं नृत्यादस्माद्विगर्हितात् । तपः क्षरति विप्रेन्द्र नृत्यगीताद्द्विजन्मनः

Transliteration

virāmaṃ kuru tasmāttvaṃ nṛtyādasmādvigarhitāt | tapaḥ kṣarati viprendra nṛtyagītāddvijanmanaḥ

Translation

Cesse donc cette danse blâmée. Ô le meilleur des brāhmaṇas, l’austérité (tapas) d’un deux-fois-né s’amoindrit par la danse et le chant.

Word by Word

• विरामम्: cessation, stopping
• विरामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विराम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• कुरु: do, make
• कुरु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्मात्: therefore, from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थक-निपात (ablative sense: 'therefore/from that')

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगतः), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• नृत्यात्: from dancing
• नृत्यात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• अस्मात्: from this
• अस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगतः), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• विगर्हितात्: from the censured (act)
• विगर्हितात्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विगर्हित (कृदन्त; √गर्ह् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (नृत्य-सम्बन्धे), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• क्षरति: flows away, diminishes
• क्षरति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षर् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विप्रेन्द्र: O best of Brahmins
• विप्रेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः)

• नृत्यगीतात्: from dancing and singing
• नृत्यगीतात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य + गीत (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (नृत्यं च गीतं च)

• द्विजन्मनः: of the twice-born (Brahmin)
• द्विजन्मनः: Sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (as moral instructor within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānandeśvara-kṣetra (emergent in the narrative)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A revered brāhmaṇa-ascetic is admonished to cease dance and song; the atmosphere is austere—forest-hermitage or kṣetra outskirts—emphasizing restraint and the fragility of tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• viprendra (brāhmaṇa)
• tapas
• dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

For those committed to ascetic discipline, restraint in entertainment preserves tapas; dharma is measured by appropriate conduct (ācāra).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as dharma-instruction within the broader tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A behavioral injunction: cease blameworthy dancing/singing to protect tapas; no snāna/dāna/japa is specified here.