Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

स श्रुत्वा तत्र वृत्तांतं रत्नवत्याः समुद्भवम् । विरक्तिं परमां कृत्वा प्रस्थितः स्वपुरं प्रति

Transliteration

sa śrutvā tatra vṛttāṃtaṃ ratnavatyāḥ samudbhavam | viraktiṃ paramāṃ kṛtvā prasthitaḥ svapuraṃ prati

Translation

ಅಲ್ಲಿ ರತ್ನವತಿಯ ವಿಷಯದ ವೃತ್ತಾಂತವನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಅವನು ಪರಮ ವೈರಾಗ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿ ತನ್ನ ನಗರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರಟನು।

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having heard)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• vṛttāntam: the account/news
• vṛttāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛttānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of śrutvā)

• ratnavatyāḥ: of Ratnavatī
• ratnavatyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratnavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे

• samudbhavam: the origin/occurrence
• samudbhavam: Karma (Object complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sam-ud-bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘वृत्तान्तम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण/अप्पोजिशन (about the origin/occurrence)

• viraktim: dispassion
• viraktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: virakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of kṛtvā)

• paramām: supreme/great
• paramām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—‘विरक्तिम्’

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having made/assuming)

• prasthitaḥ: set out
• prasthitaḥ: Kriya (Main predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे (set out)

• svapuram: to his own city
• svapuram: Karma (Destination/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva-pura (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + पुर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; गत्यर्थकक्रियायाः कर्म (destination as object)

• prati: towards
• prati: Sambandha (Directional marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-प्रयोगे (preposition ‘towards’)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator, implied continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king, having heard the account, turns away from the wedding preparations; his posture shifts from confident to contemplative, departing with a subdued retinue.

Characters & Entities

• Ratnavatī
• Daśārṇādhipati (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights how hearing a morally weighty account can trigger virakti—ethical restraint and withdrawal from an action seen as improper.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha context is implicit (Tīrthamāhātmya), but no named site appears in this verse alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates a decision to depart based on what was heard.