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

Hukuman yang sepadan dengan perbuatannya pun seketika itu juga timbul baginya—entah kematian, atau pemenjaraan, atau derita yang ditimbulkan oleh musuh.

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.