Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तेनेयं नगरी कृत्स्ना परं दुःखमुपागता । गुणैरस्य समाविष्टा नूनं मृत्युं प्रयास्यति

Transliteration

teneyaṃ nagarī kṛtsnā paraṃ duḥkhamupāgatā | guṇairasya samāviṣṭā nūnaṃ mṛtyuṃ prayāsyati

Translation

Karena dirinya, seluruh kota ini jatuh ke dalam duka yang amat dalam. Terikat oleh kebajikannya, tampaknya kota ini pun akan mengikutinya hingga ke ambang maut.

Word by Word

• तेन: by him / because of that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नगरी: city
• नगरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कृत्स्ना: entire
• कृत्स्ना: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• परम्: supreme, great
• परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• उपागता: has come to / has reached
• उपागता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + गम् (धातु) + उपागत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) used predicatively; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गुणैः: by qualities / by attributes
• गुणैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• अस्य: of him / his
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• समाविष्टा: pervaded, possessed
• समाविष्टा: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + विश् (धातु) + समाविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Sambandha (Modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nūnam (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle of certainty)

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्रयास्यति: will go to / will meet (death)
• प्रयास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + या (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Citizen/Man questioned by the kārpaṭika (continuing)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kārpaṭika

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic view of the city: citizens gathered in mourning, garlands drooping, closed marketplaces; the palace silhouette suggests the king’s impending death, while the crowd’s devotion is palpable.

Characters & Entities

• nagarī (city)
• nṛpa (implied king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A righteous ruler’s bond with his people is moral and spiritual; his suffering reverberates through the whole kingdom.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha is still implicit; the city’s grief motivates the saint’s instruction toward a curative sacred place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse describes the social-dharmic context that necessitates a tīrtha remedy.