Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 169

Devanagari script

भार्योवाच । अहमग्निं प्रवेक्ष्यामि न यास्यामि त्वया सह । पापबुद्धे पतिष्यामि न चाहं नरकाग्निषु

Transliteration

bhāryovāca | ahamagniṃ pravekṣyāmi na yāsyāmi tvayā saha | pāpabuddhe patiṣyāmi na cāhaṃ narakāgniṣu

Translation

ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಹೇಳಿದಳು: ‘ನಾನು ಅಗ್ನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವೆನು; ನಿನ್ನ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಓ ಪಾಪಬುದ್ಧಿಯವನೇ, ನಾನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಬಿದ್ದು (ಸತ್ತು) ಉಳಿಯುವೆನು; ನರಕಾಗ್ನಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಬೀಳುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.’

Word by Word

• bhāryā: the wife
• bhāryā: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• agnim: fire
• agnim: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• pravekṣyāmi: I will enter
• pravekṣyāmi: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√viś (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (particle of negation)

• yāsyāmi: I will go
• yāsyāmi: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tvayā: with you
• tvayā: Sahārtha/Karaṇa (with)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahārtha (Associative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सह-प्रयोगे) = ‘with’

• pāpa-buddhe: O evil-minded one
• pāpa-buddhe: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘पापायाः बुद्धेः यस्य सः’ (vocative form used as address)

• patiṣyāmi: I will fall (into)
• patiṣyāmi: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• naraka-agniṣu: in the fires of hell
• naraka-agniṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘नरकस्य अग्नयः’

Speaker

Wife

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The wife, fierce and sorrowful, declares she will enter fire rather than accompany her husband; she condemns him as pāpa-buddhi and invokes fear of hell-fire. A dramatic contrast between sacrificial fire and infernal fire is implied.

Characters & Entities

• agni
• naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One should refuse complicity in adharma even at great personal cost; fear of naraka symbolizes the moral gravity of choices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it is part of a larger tīrtha-glorification narrative framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; “entering fire” is presented as a dramatic personal resolve, not as a recommended rite here.