Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

नाग्निस्तृप्यति काष्ठानां नापगानां महोदधिः । नांतकः सर्वभूतानां न पुंसां वामलोचना

Transliteration

nāgnistṛpyati kāṣṭhānāṃ nāpagānāṃ mahodadhiḥ | nāṃtakaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ na puṃsāṃ vāmalocanā

Translation

ໄຟບໍ່ເຄີຍອິ່ມດ້ວຍໄມ້; ມະຫາສະໝຸດບໍ່ເຄີຍອິ່ມດ້ວຍນ້ຳແມ່ນ້ຳ. ຄວາມຕາຍ (ອັນຕະກະ) ບໍ່ເຄີຍອິ່ມດ້ວຍສັດທັງປວງ—ແລະນາງຜູ້ງາມຕາກໍບໍ່ເຄີຍອິ່ມດ້ວຍຊາຍທັງຫຼາຍ.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• agniḥ: fire
• agniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tṛpyati: is satisfied
• tṛpyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛp (तृप् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• kāṣṭhānām: of pieces of wood
• kāṣṭhānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• apagānām: of rivers
• apagānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apagā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• mahā-udadhiḥ: the great ocean
• mahā-udadhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + udadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् उदधिः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• antakaḥ: Death (the ender)
• antakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sarva-bhūtānām: of all beings
• sarva-bhūtānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां भूतानाम्)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• puṃsām: of men
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• vāma-locanā: a woman with lovely eyes
• vāma-locanā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + locanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (वामा लोचना यस्याः/या)

Speaker

Garuḍa

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Skanda Purāṇa frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: blazing fire consuming logs; rivers pouring into a vast ocean; Yama/Death gathering beings; a courtesan-like 'vāmalochanā' symbolizing insatiable desire—arranged as four emblematic panels around a central sage reciting nīti.

Characters & Entities

• Garuḍa
• Agni
• Mahodadhi (Ocean)
• Antaka (Death)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly appetite is portrayed as insatiable; liberation-oriented dharma requires restraint and higher discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s broader tīrtha-mahātmya by emphasizing inner discipline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a proverbial teaching on the nature of insatiability.