Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सांप्रतं शीलजां ब्रूहि नष्टवंशश्च यो भवेत् । पितामहं न जानाति न च मातामहीं निजाम् । तस्य शुद्धिः कथं कार्या नागरोऽस्मीति यो वदेत्

Transliteration

sāṃprataṃ śīlajāṃ brūhi naṣṭavaṃśaśca yo bhavet | pitāmahaṃ na jānāti na ca mātāmahīṃ nijām | tasya śuddhiḥ kathaṃ kāryā nāgaro'smīti yo vadet

Translation

ບັດນີ້ ຈົ່ງອະທິບາຍການຊຳລະລ້າງທີ່ຕັ້ງຢູ່ໃນຄວາມປະພຶດ (ສິນ): ຖ້າຫາກເຊື້ອສາຍຂອງຜູ້ໃດຜູ້ໜຶ່ງຫາຍສາບສູນໄປ—ລາວບໍ່ຮູ້ຈັກປູ່ ຫຼື ແມ່ຕູ້ຂອງຕົນ—ການຊຳລະລ້າງຈະຕ້ອງເຮັດແນວໃດສຳລັບຜູ້ທີ່ປະກາດວ່າ 'ຂ້ອຍແມ່ນ ນາກະຣະ'?

Word by Word

• sāṃpratam: Now
• sāṃpratam: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃpratam (सांप्रतम्)
• Form: Adverb of time (Now/At present)

• śīlajām: Procedure/purity born of conduct
• śīlajām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śīlajā (शीलजा)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• brūhi: Tell/Speak
• brūhi: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (ब्रू)
• Form: Lot Lakara (Imperative), Madhyama Purusha (2nd), Singular

• naṣṭavaṃśaḥ: One whose lineage is lost
• naṣṭavaṃśaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naṣṭavaṃśa (नष्टवंश)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ca: And
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Conjunction

• yaḥ: Who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular (Relative Pronoun)

• bhavet: May be/Should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू)
• Form: Vidhilin Lakara (Potential), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

• pitāmaham: Grandfather
• pitāmaham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (पितामह)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• na: Not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (न)
• Form: Particle of negation

• jānāti: Knows
• jānāti: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (ज्ञा)
• Form: Lat Lakara (Present), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

• na: Not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (न)
• Form: Particle of negation

• ca: And
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Conjunction

• mātāmahīm: Maternal grandmother
• mātāmahīm: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātāmahī (मातामही)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• nijām: Own
• nijām: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nijā (निजा)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• tasya: His
• tasya: Sambandha (Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• śuddhiḥ: Purification
• śuddhiḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuddhi (शुद्धि)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• katham: How
• katham: Question
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (कथम्)
• Form: Interrogative Adverb

• kāryā: To be done
• kāryā: Vidheya (Predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (कार्य)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular (Potential Passive Participle)

• nāgaraḥ: Nagara Brahmin
• nāgaraḥ: Vidheya (Predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāgara (नागर)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• asmi: I am
• asmi: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस्)
• Form: Lat Lakara (Present), Uttama Purusha (1st), Singular

• iti: Thus
• iti: Quote Marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति)
• Form: Particle

• yaḥ: Who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• vadet: Would say
• vadet: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (वद्)
• Form: Vidhilin Lakara (Potential), Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

Speaker

Ānarta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viśvāmitra (addressed indirectly as ‘brūhi’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A worried petitioner speaks of not knowing grandparents; elders listen gravely; symbolic broken family tree behind him; a path leading to a temple/tīrtha suggests restoration through dharma and pilgrimage rites.

Characters & Entities

• Ānarta
• Nāgara (identity/community)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When lineage proof is unavailable, dharma also considers conduct (śīla) as a basis for determining purification and eligibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The inquiry occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya framework in the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A request for the method of śuddhi for a naṣṭavaṃśa (unknown lineage) claimant to Nāgara status, to be determined via śīla.