Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

तद्रूपो निग्रहस्तस्य तत्क्षणादेव जायते । वधं वा यदि वा बंधं क्लेशं चाऽरातिसंभवम्

Transliteration

tadrūpo nigrahastasya tatkṣaṇādeva jāyate | vadhaṃ vā yadi vā baṃdhaṃ kleśaṃ cā'rātisaṃbhavam

Translation

Un châtiment conforme à cette même nature naît pour lui sur-le-champ—que ce soit la mort, l’emprisonnement, ou la souffrance suscitée par les ennemis.

Word by Word

• tat-rūpaḥ: of that form
• tat-rūpaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः (‘तस्य रूपः’ = of that form); विशेषण (निग्रहः)

• nigrahaḥ: punishment, restraint
• nigrahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — सर्वनाम

• tat-kṣaṇāt: from that instant
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/Time-point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः (‘तस्मिन् क्षणे’/‘तत्क्षण’); ‘from that very moment’

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण-निपात) — ‘indeed/just’

• jāyate: arises, is produced
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — आत्मनेपद

• vadham: killing, execution
• vadham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प-निपात) — ‘or’

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त-निपात) — ‘if’

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्प-निपात)

• bandham: bondage, imprisonment
• bandham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kleśam: affliction, suffering
• kleśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात)

• arāti-saṃbhavam: arising from an enemy
• arāti-saṃbhavam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arāti (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अरातेः सम्भवः’ = arising from an enemy); विशेषण (क्लेशम्)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic karmic tribunal: an offender’s act casts an immediate shadow that transforms into chains, a sword, or hostile figures—depicting death, imprisonment, or enemy-caused pain arising instantly.

Characters & Entities

• nigraha (punishment)
• arāti (enemy)
• bandha (imprisonment)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is self-enforcing: wrongdoing rapidly ripens into consequences, often through social and political instruments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this line; it supports the Mahātmya by illustrating dharma’s protective justice in the sacred narrative world.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes karmic and royal consequences rather than a ritual.