Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

वंशोच्छेदं समासाद्य नरकं स प्रयास्यति । एतस्मात्कारणाद्भीता न कुर्वंति नरा भुवि

Transliteration

vaṃśocchedaṃ samāsādya narakaṃ sa prayāsyati | etasmātkāraṇādbhītā na kurvaṃti narā bhuvi

Translation

Ayant subi l’anéantissement de sa lignée, il ira en enfer. C’est pourquoi les hommes sur la terre, effrayés par la conséquence, n’entreprennent pas cela de façon impropre.

Word by Word

• vaṃśa-ucchedam: destruction of lineage
• vaṃśa-ucchedam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक) + uccheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वंशस्य उच्छेदः)

• samāsādya: having reached
• samāsādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√sad (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘समासाद्य’ = सम्यक् आसाद्य (having reached/attained)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• prayāsyati: will go
• prayāsyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• etasmāt: from this
• etasmāt: Apādāna (Source/Cause-from/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāraṇāt: because of the reason
• kāraṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• bhītāḥ: afraid
• bhītāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhī)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (नराः)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• kurvanti: do
• kurvanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rātrinātha-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed as ‘saddvijāḥ’ in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: a man hesitating at a sacred precinct, elders warning him; behind, a symbolic vision of lineage fading and a dark naraka abyss, contrasted with the luminous kṣetra boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka
• Vaṃśoccheda
• Candra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred acts must be done with purity and correctness; irreverent or rule-breaking religiosity is portrayed as spiritually dangerous.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The warning belongs to the same Candra/Soma shrine māhātmya context; it regulates conduct around that sacred undertaking.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition-by-warning: do not perform the Candra-prāsāda undertaking ‘anyathā’ (improperly), due to severe stated consequences.