Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

पपात भूतले कायं काष्ठलोष्टोपमं द्रुतम् । लक्ष्मणस्य गतश्रीकं सरय्वाः पुलिने शुभे

Transliteration

papāta bhūtale kāyaṃ kāṣṭhaloṣṭopamaṃ drutam | lakṣmaṇasya gataśrīkaṃ sarayvāḥ puline śubhe

Translation

അപ്പോൾ സരയൂവിന്റെ ശുഭമായ മണൽത്തീരത്ത് ലക്ഷ്മണന്റെ ശോഭ നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട ദേഹം മരക്കഷണം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ മണ്ണുകട്ടപോലെ വേഗത്തിൽ ഭൂമിയിൽ വീണു।

Word by Word

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• bhūtale: on the ground
• bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (singular); समासः—भूः + तलम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्देश)

• kāyam: body
• kāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (singular)

• kāṣṭha-loṣṭa-upamam: like a piece of wood or a clod
• kāṣṭha-loṣṭa-upamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + loṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + upama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (singular); समासः—काष्ठलोष्टयोः उपमम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• drutam: quickly
• drutam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (singular); अव्ययवत् क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (adverbial sense)

• lakṣmaṇasya: of Lakṣmaṇa
• lakṣmaṇasya: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (singular)

• gata-śrīkam: deprived of splendor (lifeless)
• gata-śrīkam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (कृदन्त; √gam धातु) + śrīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (singular); समासः—गता श्रीः यस्मात् तत् (बहुव्रीह्यर्थे प्रयोगः, परन्तु रूपतः तत्पुरुष-समासवत्)

• sarayvāḥ: of the Sarayū (river)
• sarayvāḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarayū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (singular)

• puline: on the sandbank
• puline: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (singular)

• śubhe: auspicious
• śubhe: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (singular); पुलिने इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū Pulina (Ayodhyā-Sarayū tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a bright sandy riverbank, Lakṣmaṇa’s body lies motionless, drained of radiance; the Sarayū flows calmly behind, with distant Ayodhyā silhouettes and ritual trees; the contrast of serene tīrtha landscape and sudden mortality dominates.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmaṇa
• Sarayū

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse underscores impermanence of the body and the higher reality of the departing spirit, a key Purāṇic teaching supporting vairāgya (detachment).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarayū’s auspicious riverbank (pulinam) is explicitly named, marking it as the sacred locus of the event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it narrates the bodily aftermath of the yogic departure at the tīrtha.