Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अहंकारेण संयुक्ताः परस्परजिगीषवः । तपसा विप्रयुक्ताश्च भोगसक्ता दिवानिशम्

Transliteration

ahaṃkāreṇa saṃyuktāḥ parasparajigīṣavaḥ | tapasā viprayuktāśca bhogasaktā divāniśam

Translation

അഹങ്കാരത്തിൽ ബന്ധിതരായി, പരസ്പരം ജയിക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ച്, തപസ്സിൽ നിന്ന് വഴുതിപ്പോയി, പകലും രാത്രിയും ഭോഗങ്ങളിൽ ആസക്തരായവർ—അവർ ധർമ്മത്താൽ അല്ല, മത്സരത്താൽ നയിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अहंकारेण: by ego
• अहंकारेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहंकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-विभक्तिः (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• संयुक्ताः: joined; associated
• संयुक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + युज् (धातु) → संयुक्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• परस्परजिगीषवः: desiring to conquer one another
• परस्परजिगीषवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परस्पर + जिगीषु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• विप्रयुक्ताः: separated; estranged
• विप्रयुक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + प्र + युज् (धातु) → विप्रयुक्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (conjunction)

• भोगसक्ताः: attached to pleasures
• भोगसक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भोग + सक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• दिवानिशम्: day and night
• दिवानिशम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा + निशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Indra (Purandara) (deduced from immediate context where he is addressed as Purandara in v.24)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two factions of ritualists compete in a sacrificial arena, measuring status; behind them, symbols of luxury and indulgence; a neglected ascetic fire (tapas) smolders faintly.

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Purandara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ego and competitive hostility corrode tapas; without restraint, even a holy setting cannot uplift the mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it gives a moral diagnosis—avoid ego, rivalry, and pleasure-seeking that weaken austerity.