Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

तस्य यत्नपरस्यापि रक्षमाणस्य भूपतेः । अजास्ता व्याघ्ररूपेण शंकरेण प्रभक्षिताः

Transliteration

tasya yatnaparasyāpi rakṣamāṇasya bhūpateḥ | ajāstā vyāghrarūpeṇa śaṃkareṇa prabhakṣitāḥ

Translation

王が懸命に守ろうとしても、虎の姿を取ったシャンカラ（Śaṅkara）によって、その山羊たちは食い尽くされた。

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/of that (king)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-प्रयोगानुसार

• यत्नपरस्य: of (one) devoted to effort
• यत्नपरस्य: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत्न (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (यत्न-पर = effort-devoted), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थे ‘even/also’

• रक्षमाणस्य: of (him) who was protecting
• रक्षमाणस्य: Visheshana (Participial qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु) → रक्षमाण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Present active participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• भूपतेः: of the king
• भूपतेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अजाः: goats
• अजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ताः: those (goats)
• ताः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• व्याघ्ररूपेण: in the form of a tiger
• व्याघ्ररूपेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघ्र (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (व्याघ्र-रूप = tiger-form), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• शंकरेण: by Śaṅkara
• शंकरेण: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• प्रभक्षिताः: were devoured
• प्रभक्षिताः: Karma (Patient in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + भक्ष् (धातु) → प्रभक्षित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle/Kta), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vigilant king tries to shield a herd of goats; a tiger—actually Śaṅkara—springs from the brush and devours them as attendants recoil in fear.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Ajāpāla
• Goats (ajās)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic narratives often portray divine līlā as a test that reveals the depth of dharma—human effort may be overruled to fulfill a higher timing and purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse does not name a tīrtha; it supports the chapter’s broader tīrtha-māhātmya storyline through the exemplar of dharma under trial.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.