Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

ततो मे भ्रममाणस्य प्रणष्टाः सर्वसैनिकाः । गुल्मैरंतरिताश्चाऽन्ये न जानेऽहं कथं स्थिताः

Transliteration

tato me bhramamāṇasya praṇaṣṭāḥ sarvasainikāḥ | gulmairaṃtaritāścā'nye na jāne'haṃ kathaṃ sthitāḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് ഞാൻ അലഞ്ഞുതിരിയുമ്പോൾ എന്റെ എല്ലാ സൈനികരും അപ്രത്യക്ഷരായി; ചിലർ കാട്ടുപൊന്തകളാൽ വേർപെട്ടു—അവർ എങ്ങനെ ആണെന്ന് എനിക്ക് അറിയില്ല।

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — then/thereafter

• मे: of me/my
• मे: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — genitive/dative enclitic; here genitive 'of me'

• भ्रममाणस्य: while I was wandering
• भ्रममाणस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive absolute-like relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रममाण (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √भ्रम् (धातु) शतृ/वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — present participle used adjectivally: 'while wandering'

• प्रणष्टाः: were lost
• प्रणष्टाः: Kriya (Predicative complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रणष्ट (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; प्र-√नश् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — PPP: lost/vanished

• सर्व-सैनिकाः: all the soldiers
• सर्व-सैनिकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सैनिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — कर्मधारय: 'सर्वे सैनिकाः'

• गुल्मैः: by thickets/bushes
• गुल्मैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुल्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• अंतरिताः: were separated/obscured
• अंतरिताः: Kriya (Predicative complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अंतरित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; अन्तर्-√इ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — PPP: separated/hidden

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — and

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — substantive use: others

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — negation

• जाने: I know
• जाने: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — I know

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — pronoun

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshana (Interrogative adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — how?

• स्थिताः: remained
• स्थिताः: Kriya (Predicative complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √स्था (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — PPP: remained/stayed

Speaker

King Vidūratha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jaimini and the munis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king stands alone amid tangled shrubs; the path is lost, soldiers absent; his posture shows worry and searching gaze, with broken lines of footprints fading into undergrowth.

Characters & Entities

• Vidūratha (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human control is fragile; disorientation can become the turning point that leads one toward refuge in the sacred.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it functions as a narrative lead-in to the tīrtha encounter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.