Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

वीक्षांचक्रुः समासीनं विषमे गिरिगह्वरे । तेजोहीनं तथा दीनं ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्

Transliteration

vīkṣāṃcakruḥ samāsīnaṃ viṣame girigahvare | tejohīnaṃ tathā dīnaṃ brahmahatyāpariplutam

Translation

Ils le virent assis dans une caverne âpre de la montagne, privé d’éclat, misérable, et submergé par la souillure de la brahmahatyā (le péché d’avoir tué un brāhmaṇa).

Word by Word

• वीक्षाम्: a look, sight
• वीक्षाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (आकर्मक-प्रयोगे)

• चक्रुः: they did/made (i.e., they looked)
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• समासीनम्: seated
• समासीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आस् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘seated’

• विषमे: in a difficult/uneven (place)
• विषमे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• गिरिगह्वरे: in a mountain-cave/cleft
• गिरिगह्वरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक) + गह्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तेजोहीनम्: devoid of splendor
• तेजोहीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक) + हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘tejas’-विहीन); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• दीनम्: wretched, miserable
• दीनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्: overwhelmed/covered by brahma-slaying sin
• ब्रह्महत्यापरिप्लुतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + परिप्लुत (प्रातिपदिक/क्त)
• Form: तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (ब्रह्महत्यया परिप्लुतः); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: cave

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate mountain ravine with a dark cave; Indra sits collapsed, aura extinguished, body marked by impurity; distant gods peer in alarm from the cave-mouth’s edge.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Brahmahatyā (sin)
• Giri-gahvara (mountain cave)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sin diminishes spiritual radiance; Purāṇic dharma emphasizes acknowledgment of fault and seeking purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse mentions a mountain cavern in an ocean-mountain setting; the named tīrtha is not specified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse introduces the condition (brahmahatyā) that typically requires tīrtha-snāna and prāyaścitta.