Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

ततस्तु पार्थिवः क्रुद्धस्तस्य शाखावलंबनम् । आदिदेश द्विजश्रेष्ठा मणिभद्रस्य दुर्मतेः

Transliteration

tatastu pārthivaḥ kruddhastasya śākhāvalaṃbanam | ādideśa dvijaśreṣṭhā maṇibhadrasya durmateḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ രാജാവ് ക്രോധിതനായി, ആ ദുര്‍മതി മണിഭദ്രനെ വൃക്ഷശാഖയിൽ തൂക്കിക്കൊള്ളുവാൻ ആജ്ഞാപിച്ചു, ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠാ।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): तस्मात्/ततः = thereafter

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/conjunction): but/indeed

• pārthivaḥ: the king
• pārthivaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kruddhaḥ: angry
• kruddhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kruddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √krudh क्रुध्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying pārthivaḥ)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• śākhā-avalambanam: hanging by a branch
• śākhā-avalambanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākhā (प्रातिपदिक) + avalambana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śākhāyāḥ avalambanam = hanging/support by a branch)

• ādideśa: commanded
• ādideśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√diś (दिश्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्; अर्थः: आदेशं कृतवान् (he commanded)

• dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ: O best Brahmins / best among the twice-born
• dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ: Sambodhana/Pratigrahita (Addressee/सम्बोधन-प्राप्त)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dvijānāṃ śreṣṭhāḥ = best among the twice-born)

• maṇibhadrasya: of Maṇibhadra
• maṇibhadrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇibhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• durmateḥ: of the wicked-minded (one)
• durmateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्रीलिङ्ग (प्रायः स्त्री), षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषणार्थे (of the evil-minded one)

Speaker

Narrator addressing a Brahmin listener (dvijaśreṣṭha); exact frame-speaker not in snippet

Visual Art Cues

Scene: क्रुद्ध राजा सभा में आदेश देता है; द्विजश्रेष्ठ (ब्राह्मण) साक्षी; अपराधी मणिभद्र को वृक्ष-शाखा से लटकाने का दण्ड घोषित।

Characters & Entities

• Maṇibhadra
• pārthiva (king)
• dvijaśreṣṭha (Brahmin addressee)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rulers are bound to rāja-dharma: protecting society by restraining wrongdoing and enforcing justice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not specify the tīrtha; it continues a tīrtha-māhātmya narrative sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it concerns royal judgment and punishment.