Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

अनिकेता भविष्यंति वंशेऽस्या गोप्रजीविनः । एवं शप्त्वा विधिं साध्वी गायत्रीं च ततः परम्

Transliteration

aniketā bhaviṣyaṃti vaṃśe'syā goprajīvinaḥ | evaṃ śaptvā vidhiṃ sādhvī gāyatrīṃ ca tataḥ param

Translation

അവളുടെ വംശത്തിൽ പശുപാലനം ചെയ്ത് ജീവിക്കുന്നവർ അനികേതരായി, അഥവാ ഗൃഹഹീനരായി മാറും. ഇങ്ങനെ ശപിച്ച്, ആ സാധ്വി പിന്നെ വിധി (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്)യെയും ഗായത്രിയെയും ശപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• अनिकेताः: homeless / without a dwelling
• अनिकेताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिकेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (to implied descendants)

• भविष्यन्ति: will become
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• वंशे: in the lineage
• वंशे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• अस्याः: of her
• अस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• गोप्रजीविनः: living by cattle (cow-herding)
• गोप्रजीविनः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative/attribute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गो + प्रजीविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (thus)

• शप्त्वा: having cursed
• शप्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तः (absolutive/gerund), ‘having cursed’

• विधिम्: Brahmā / the Ordainer (Vidhi)
• विधिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• साध्वी: the chaste woman
• साध्वी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साध्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• गायत्रीम्: Gāyatrī (goddess/mantra)
• गायत्रीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गायत्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then/thereafter)

• परम्: afterwards / next
• परम्: Sambandha (temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परम् (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोगः (adverbial: afterwards/next)

Speaker

Narrator (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; specific speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sādhvī with raised hand pronounces a curse; behind her, a lineage transforms into wandering cowherds with bundles and cattle, moving away from a village silhouette—an origin-story tableau. Brahmā (Vidhī) and Gāyatrī appear as divine figures receiving the subsequent curse in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Vidhī (Brahmā)
• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights Purāṇic moral causality: adharma or offense can lead to tangible social suffering (loss of home/status), showing the gravity attributed to śāpa and ethical conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (praise of sacred places), but this single line does not name a specific tīrtha; the surrounding adhyāya context would identify the exact site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is narrative, describing a curse and its consequences rather than prescribing snāna, dāna, japa, or vrata.