Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

परं मे दुःखमेवैकं हृदि शल्यमिवार्पितम् । अनेनैव शरीरेण यन्न प्राप्तं त्रिविष्टपम्

Transliteration

paraṃ me duḥkhamevaikaṃ hṛdi śalyamivārpitam | anenaiva śarīreṇa yanna prāptaṃ triviṣṭapam

Translation

ແຕ່ມີທຸກຂ໌ຢ່າງດຽວທີ່ທຳໃຫ້ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຖືກທຸກທົນ ດັ່ງໜາມປັກຢູ່ໃນຫົວໃຈ: ຄືວ່າດ້ວຍຮ່າງກາຍນີ້ເອງ ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຍັງບໍ່ໄດ້ບັນລຸ ຕຣິວິສຕະປະ (ໂລກສະຫວັນ) ເລີຍ।

Word by Word

• परम्: supreme, greatest
• परम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; 'दुःखम्' इति विशेषणम् (supreme/only)

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive); एकवचन; enclitic

• दुःखम्: sorrow, pain
• दुःखम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle of emphasis: indeed/only)

• एकम्: one, single
• एकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; 'दुःखम्' इति विशेषणम्

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative); एकवचन

• शल्यम्: a thorn, a dart; a painful sting
• शल्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Sambandha (Simile-marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-वाचक (comparative particle: like/as)

• आर्पितम्: placed, implanted
• आर्पितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-र्प्/अर्प् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; 'शल्यम्' इति पदस्य विधेय (predicate)

• अनेन: by/with this
• अनेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental); एकवचन

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

• शरीरेण: with this body
• शरीरेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• यत्: which (that)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• प्राप्तम्: attained, reached
• प्राप्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; 'यत्' इति पदस्य विधेय

• त्रिविष्टपम्: heaven (Triviṣṭapa)
• त्रिविष्टपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिविष्टप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative); एकवचन

Speaker

Triśaṅku (deduced from context; the next adhyāya references ‘triśaṅkoḥ’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solitary figure touches the chest as if feeling a thorn within, eyes lowered; behind, a sage and a quiet hermitage/riverbank suggest counsel amid spiritual dissatisfaction.

Characters & Entities

• Triśaṅku
• Triviṣṭapa (Svarga)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly status and ritual effort feel incomplete without the higher aim; the verse frames intense longing for transcendence as an inner ‘thorn’ that drives tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse itself focuses on the aspiration for Svarga; the broader Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context links such narratives to the merit of tīrtha-observance rather than naming a single site in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it expresses the goal (attaining Triviṣṭapa with the body), which later prompts austerity and extraordinary means.