Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

बहुभिः कलहो नित्यं द्वाभ्यां संघर्षणं तथा । एकाकी विचरिष्यामि कुमारीवलयं यथा

Transliteration

bahubhiḥ kalaho nityaṃ dvābhyāṃ saṃgharṣaṇaṃ tathā | ekākī vicariṣyāmi kumārīvalayaṃ yathā

Translation

പലരോടൊപ്പം നിത്യവും കലഹം; രണ്ടുപേരോടൊപ്പം പോലും സംഘർഷം. അതുകൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ ഏകാകിയായി സഞ്ചരിക്കും—കുമാരിയുടെ കൈമുട്ടിലെ ഒറ്റ വളപോലെ, ഒറ്റയായാൽ ശബ്ദമില്ല.

Word by Word

• bahubhiḥ: with many
• bahubhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), बहुवचन = ‘by/with many (people)’

• kalahaḥ: quarrel
• kalahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = ‘quarrel’

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्यय = ‘always’

• dvābhyām: with two
• dvābhyām: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वि-शब्द, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), द्विवचन = ‘by/with two’

• saṃgharṣaṇam: friction
• saṃgharṣaṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃgharṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √gharṣ धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = ‘rubbing/friction’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = ‘so/likewise’

• ekākī: alone
• ekākī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + ākī/ākīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण = ‘alone/solitary’ (speaker)

• vicariṣyāmi: I will wander
• vicariṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi+√car (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन = ‘I shall wander’

• kumārī-valayam: a maiden’s bangle
• kumārī-valayam: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumārī (प्रातिपदिक) + valaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of a maiden’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन = ‘(like) a maiden’s bangle(s)’

• yathā: as; like
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमानवाचक) = ‘as/like’

Speaker

Unnamed narrator (first-person voice within the Adhyāya); framed later by Sūta’s narration in this section

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: many people arguing in the background, two figures in dispute in the mid-ground, and a lone wanderer in the foreground; inset shows a single bangle on a maiden’s wrist—silent and still.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reducing social entanglement helps curb quarrel and supports inner quiet suited to spiritual pursuit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is an ethical-spiritual maxim within the Tīrthamāhātmya frame; no specific tīrtha is identified here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it recommends a lifestyle discipline—solitary wandering and restraint of conflict.