Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अहमासं पुरा राजा श्वेतोनाम महामुने । आनर्ताधिपतिः पापः सर्वलोकनिपीडकः

Transliteration

ahamāsaṃ purā rājā śvetonāma mahāmune | ānartādhipatiḥ pāpaḥ sarvalokanipīḍakaḥ

Translation

大いなるムニよ、かつて私はシュヴェータ（Śveta）という名の王であり、アーナルタ（Ānarta）を治めていた。罪深き振る舞いに沈み、万民を苦しめ圧迫する暴君であった。

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-एकवचन

• आसम्: was
• आसम्: Kriyā (Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• पुरा: formerly; once
• पुरा: Kālādhiकरण (Temporal adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन

• श्वेतः: Śveta (name)
• श्वेतः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; नामरूपेण

• नाम: by name; called
• नाम: Nāmadhāraṇa (Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नाम-शब्दः अव्ययप्रयोगः; ‘called/named’ इत्यर्थे

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि = महा + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचन

• आनर्ताधिपतिः: lord of Ānarta (region)
• आनर्ताधिपतिः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनर्त + अधिपति (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘आनर्तस्य अधिपतिः’)

• पापः: sinful; wicked
• पापः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; ‘राजा/आधिपतिः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सर्वलोकनिपीडकः: oppressor of all people
• सर्वलोकनिपीडकः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + लोक + निपीडक (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘सर्वलोकानां निपीडकः’); ‘निपीडक’ = √पीड् + ण्वुल् (agent noun)

Speaker

Unspecified (a former king narrating his past to a sage within the Tīrthamāhātmya)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahāmuni

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flashback tableau: King Śveta on a throne in Ānarta, stern and oppressive, with distressed subjects below; the confession voiceover frames the scene as condemnation of his past.

Characters & Entities

• Śveta
• Ānarta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a powerful ruler must face dharma: oppression and sin lead to downfall, and the path begins with honest confession.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets up a tīrtha-redemption narrative; the specific holy water is clarified in the subsequent verses describing bathing in the auspicious water here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it introduces the speaker’s sinful past as context for later tīrtha-snānaphala (merit of bathing).