Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

याहियाहीति विप्रैस्तैर्भर्त्स्यमानो मुहुर्मुहुः । सर्वतः सारमेयैश्च क्लिश्यमानो निरर्गलैः । काककोकिलसंकाशो जीर्णवस्त्रावगुंठितः

Transliteration

yāhiyāhīti vipraistairbhartsyamāno muhurmuhuḥ | sarvataḥ sārameyaiśca kliśyamāno nirargalaiḥ | kākakokilasaṃkāśo jīrṇavastrāvaguṃṭhitaḥ

Translation

「行け！行け！」と叫ぶバラモンたちに度々罵られ、野良犬たちに四方から責め立てられ、彼はボロボロの衣をまとい、カラスかカッコウのように見えた。

Word by Word

• yāhi: go!
• yāhi: Sambodhana/Prayojya (Addressed person)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धाातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• yāhi: go! (again)
• yāhi: Sambodhana/Prayojya (Addressed person)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (repetition for emphasis)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vacana-dyotaka (quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• vipraiḥ: by the brahmins
• vipraiḥ: Karta (Agent; of scolding)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• taiḥ: by them
• taiḥ: Karta (Agent; co-referential)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (pronoun agreeing with vipraiḥ)

• bhartsyamānaḥ: being abused/scolded
• bhartsyamānaḥ: Karma (Patient; being scolded)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bharts (धातु) + śānac (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपद-प्रयोगः, शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (present passive/medial participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• muhuḥ: again and again
• muhuḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• muhuḥ: repeatedly
• muhuḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb), पुनरुक्ति

• sarvataḥ: from all sides
• sarvataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• sārameyaiḥ: by dogs
• sārameyaiḥ: Karta (Agent; of tormenting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārameya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• kliśyamānaḥ: being tormented
• kliśyamānaḥ: Karma (Patient; being afflicted)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kliś (धातु) + śānac (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपद-प्रयोगः, शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nirargalaiḥ: unrestrained, unchecked
• nirargalaiḥ: Karta (Agent-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirargala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying sārameyaiḥ)

• kāka-kokila-saṃkāśaḥ: resembling a crow/cuckoo
• kāka-kokila-saṃkāśaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective of the subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक) + kokila (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुषः (kāka-kokilayoḥ saṃkāśaḥ = like a crow/cuckoo)

• jīrṇa-vastra-avaguṃṭhitaḥ: covered/veiled with tattered clothes
• jīrṇa-vastra-avaguṃṭhitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīrṇa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + vastra (प्रातिपदिक) + avaguṃṭhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (jīrṇaiḥ vastraiḥ avaguṃṭhitaḥ = covered with worn clothes)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disgraced man, wrapped in torn cloth, darkened and gaunt, is driven away by stern brāhmaṇas while packs of dogs surround and harry him; the street/edge of settlement feels hostile and dusty.

Characters & Entities

• vipra (brāhmaṇas)
• sārameya (dogs)
• King (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma culminates in loss of honor and peace; dharma safeguards dignity through right conduct and reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this shloka; it contributes to the larger tīrtha-centered moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.