Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तस्मात्त्वं तप उत्सृज्य राज्यं पूर्वक्रमागतम् । कुरु राज्यं तथा दारान्पुत्रार्थं प्राप्य मा चिरम्

Transliteration

tasmāttvaṃ tapa utsṛjya rājyaṃ pūrvakramāgatam | kuru rājyaṃ tathā dārānputrārthaṃ prāpya mā ciram

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് നീ തപസ്സു ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് പൂർവ്വപരമ്പരയായി ലഭിച്ച രാജ്യം ഏറ്റെടുക്കുക. രാജ്യം ഭരിക്കയും പുത്രലാഭത്തിനായി വൈകാതെ ഭാര്യയെ സ്വീകരിക്കയും ചെയ്യുക.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तस्मात् (अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक-निपात (therefore)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुषार्थे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• उत्सृज्य: having given up
• उत्सृज्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्√सृज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having abandoned’

• राज्यम्: kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• पूर्व-क्रम-आगतम्: obtained by ancestral succession
• पूर्व-क्रम-आगतम्: Karman (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक) + आगत (कृदन्त, √गम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः; कृदन्त-विशेषण (आगत = प्राप्त)

• कुरु: do / undertake
• कुरु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• राज्यम्: kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• तथा: also / likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (also/likewise)

• दारान्: wives
• दारान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन (pluralia tantum)

• पुत्र-अर्थम्: for (getting) a son
• पुत्र-अर्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; द्वितीया-तत्पुरुषार्थे अव्ययवत् (for the sake of a son)

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having obtained’

• मा: do not
• मा: Kriya (Prohibition/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (prohibitive)

• चिरम्: for long / long time
• चिरम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोगः; द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (for long)

Speaker

Counsellors/subjects (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A decisive counsel scene: ministers urge the king to set aside excessive austerity, reclaim the ancestral throne, and marry for an heir; the king’s posture shifts from withdrawn to resolute.

Characters & Entities

• King (addressed)
• Tapas
• Rājya
• Putra (heir)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renunciation is not superior in every context; for a king, protecting society and ensuring lawful succession can be a higher dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it advances the chapter’s story that undergirds the tīrtha’s significance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It prescribes adopting household life (marriage) for the purpose of an heir and resuming governance—practical dharma rather than a specific ritual.