Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

अनंतपारा दुष्पूरा तृष्णा दुःखशतावहा । अधर्मबहुला चैव तस्मात्तां परिवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

anaṃtapārā duṣpūrā tṛṣṇā duḥkhaśatāvahā | adharmabahulā caiva tasmāttāṃ parivarjayet

Translation

ತೃಷ್ಣೆಗೆ ಅಂತ್ಯತೀರವಿಲ್ಲ, ಅದು ತುಂಬಲು ದುಸ್ತರ, ನೂರಾರು ದುಃಖಗಳನ್ನು ತರುತ್ತದೆ; ಅದು ಅಧರ್ಮದಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿದೆ, ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಬೇಕು.

Word by Word

• अनन्तपारा: endless in limit
• अनन्तपारा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + पार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (अनन्तं पारं यस्याः/या)

• दुष्पूरा: hard to satisfy
• दुष्पूरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुस् (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + पूर (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-योग्य)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘दुष्पूरा’ = difficult to fill/satisfy

• तृष्णा: craving
• तृष्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• दुःखशतावहा: bringing hundreds of sorrows
• दुःखशतावहा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + आवह (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधार)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-समर्थ तत्पुरुष (दुःखशतानि आवहति या)

• अधर्मबहुला: abounding in unrighteousness
• अधर्मबहुला: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + बहुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अधर्मे बहुला/अधर्मबहुला)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Avyaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/Reason/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अपादान/हेतु (ablative: therefore/from that reason)

• ताम्: that (craving)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• परिवर्जयेत्: should avoid
• परिवर्जयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Bharadvāja (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast ocean labeled tṛṣṇā with no visible shore; a traveler repeatedly drinks yet remains thirsty, surrounded by scenes of sorrow; a sage points to a higher path—tyāga and devotion—leading to a luminous horizon.

Characters & Entities

• tṛṣṇā
• adharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desire is insatiable and leads to adharma and misery; spiritual life begins by consciously renouncing craving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is mentioned; the verse provides the ethical foundation that enables tīrtha-yātrā to yield lasting puṇya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Renunciation/avoidance (parivarjana) of craving is prescribed as a moral discipline rather than a ritual act.