Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततस्ताः काम संतप्ता दौर्भाग्येन समन्विताः । प्रोचुर्दुःखान्विता दक्षं गत्वा बाष्पप्लुताननाः

Transliteration

tatastāḥ kāma saṃtaptā daurbhāgyena samanvitāḥ | procurduḥkhānvitā dakṣaṃ gatvā bāṣpaplutānanāḥ

Translation

Alors ces jeunes filles, brûlées par un désir inassouvi et accablées de malchance, allèrent vers Dakṣa ; le visage baigné de larmes, elles lui parlèrent dans la douleur.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = thereafter

• ताः: they (those women)
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; subject pronoun

• काम: by desire (love)
• काम: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; हेतु/करणभावे: 'by/with desire (love)'

• संतप्ता: tormented
• संतप्ता: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि) = past participle; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'tormented'

• दौर्भाग्येन: by misfortune
• दौर्भाग्येन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौर्भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental 'by misfortune'

• समन्विताः: endowed (with)
• समन्विताः: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-अन्-वि-इ (धातु) / समन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (पाठे बहुवचनरूपम्); 'endowed/possessed (with)'

• प्रोचुः: they spoke
• प्रोचुः: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-उच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; 'said/spoke'

• दुःखान्विताः: filled with sorrow
• दुःखान्विताः: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे: 'दुःखेन अन्विताः' = accompanied by sorrow

• दक्षम्: Dakṣa
• दक्षम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; object of 'procuḥ' (addressed/mentioned)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त) = gerund; 'having gone'

• बाष्पप्लुताननाः: with tear-drenched faces
• बाष्पप्लुताननाः: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाष्प (प्रातिपदिक) + प्लुत (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'बाष्पेण प्लुतम् आननं यस्याः' = whose faces were drenched with tears

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of sorrowful maidens with tear-wet faces approach Dakṣa, hands folded; their garments and garlands appear disheveled, conveying neglect and emotional heat of kāma-santāpa.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Dakṣa-jāḥ (Dakṣa’s daughters)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering arises when rightful duties and relational dharma are neglected; the Purāṇas frame such distress as a call to restore dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative frame; the snippet itself focuses on the Dakṣa–Soma episode rather than naming a distinct tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is stated here; it sets up a dharma-discussion that follows regarding ṛtu-kāla and conjugal duty.