Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यथा मया गृहं त्यक्तं दृष्ट्वा सर्पविचेष्टितम् । गृहारंभः सुदुःखाय सुखाय न कदाचन

Transliteration

yathā mayā gṛhaṃ tyaktaṃ dṛṣṭvā sarpaviceṣṭitam | gṛhāraṃbhaḥ suduḥkhāya sukhāya na kadācana

Translation

蛇のふるまいを見て、わたしは家を捨てた。家を起こし保つことは大いなる苦しみのもとであり、真の安楽へは決して至らない。

Word by Word

• yathā: as/how
• yathā: Sambandha (Clause linker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; yathā-śabda (as/how) introducing explanation

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Tṛtīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• gṛham: house
• gṛham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• tyaktam: abandoned
• tyaktam: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (क्त), Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; agrees with 'gṛham'

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + tvā (त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वान्त/त्वान्त), indeclinable verbal form; pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)

• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: the snake’s activity/behavior
• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa: sarpa-viceṣṭitam; Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; object of 'dṛṣṭvā'

• gṛha-ārambhaḥ: undertaking of a house (house-building)
• gṛha-ārambhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + ārambha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa: gṛhārambhaḥ; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• su-duḥkhāya: for great sorrow
• su-duḥkhāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya-like formation: su-duḥkha (very painful); Napuṃsaka-linga, Caturthī-vibhakti (4th/चतुर्थी), Ekavacana; dative of purpose/result

• sukhāya: for happiness
• sukhāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka-linga, Caturthī-vibhakti, Ekavacana; dative of purpose

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; niṣedha (negation particle)

• kadācana: ever/at any time
• kadācana: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācana (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla-avyaya (temporal adverb)

Speaker

An ascetic/renunciate narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya dialogue (speaker not explicitly named in the provided snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A person witnesses a serpent’s movements in/around a house and, struck by insight, abandons the home, declaring household undertaking leads to sorrow, not true happiness.

Characters & Entities

• Sarpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Household attachment easily becomes bondage; discernment (viveka) turns one toward liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is ethical instruction within a tīrtha-context; the particular pilgrimage site is not specified in this shloka alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is mentioned; the instruction is renunciatory and contemplative.