Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

आर्तानां यत्र लोकानां दोषैः पार्थिवसंभवैः । पतंत्यश्रूणि भूपृष्ठे तत्र राजा स दोषभाक्

Transliteration

ārtānāṃ yatra lokānāṃ doṣaiḥ pārthivasaṃbhavaiḥ | pataṃtyaśrūṇi bhūpṛṣṭhe tatra rājā sa doṣabhāk

Translation

രാജാവിൽ നിന്നു ജനിച്ച ദോഷങ്ങളാൽ പീഡിതജനങ്ങളുടെ കണ്ണീർ ഭൂമിയിൽ വീഴുന്നിടത്ത്, അവിടെ ആ രാജാവുതന്നെ ആ പാപഭാരം വഹിക്കുന്നവനാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• आर्तानाम्: of the afflicted
• आर्तानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• लोकानाम्: of the people/worlds
• लोकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध

• दोषैः: by faults
• दोषैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; करण (instrumental)

• पार्थिव-सम्भवैः: arising from earthly (causes)
• पार्थिव-सम्भवैः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पार्थिवस्य सम्भवाः = arising from the earthly/kingly)

• पतन्ति: fall
• पतन्ति: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अश्रूणि: tears
• अश्रूणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्तृपद (subject)

• भू-पृष्ठे: on the earth’s surface
• भू-पृष्ठे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक) + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भूयाः पृष्ठम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक अव्यय

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दोष-भाक्: a sharer in the fault (culpable)
• दोष-भाक्: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दोष (प्रातिपदिक) + भाज् (धातु) (कृदन्त: भाक्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक (भाक् = भागी/भजमानः); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दोषस्य भाक् = partaker of fault)

Speaker

Unspecified (gnomic teaching within the narrative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sorrowful populace stands on parched ground; tears fall onto the earth like dark drops; behind them a king sits uneasy on a throne as the earth-goddess silently witnesses the moral burden.

Characters & Entities

• rājā
• ārtāḥ (afflicted people)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Misrule is not merely administrative failure; it becomes moral demerit (doṣa) borne by the ruler.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse states a principle of karmic responsibility in kingship.