Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

एष नः संशयो विप्र सुमहान्हृदि संस्थितः

Transliteration

eṣa naḥ saṃśayo vipra sumahānhṛdi saṃsthitaḥ

Translation

ഹേ വിപ്രാ! ഈ അതിമഹാ സംശയം ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ ഉദിച്ച് സ്ഥിരമായി നിലകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन = Genitive, Plural: "of us/our"

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन = Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• vipra: O brahmin
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन = Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• su-mahān: very great
• su-mahān: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mahant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (संशयस्य) = Masculine, Nominative, Singular; intensive with su-

• hṛdi: in the heart
• hṛdi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (हृद् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन = Neuter, Locative, Singular

• saṃsthitaḥ: situated, lodged
• saṃsthitaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-sthā (सम्+स्था धातु) + saṃsthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संशयः इति विशेषणम् = Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

Unspecified interlocutor (questioner addressing a brāhmaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vipra (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee/kingly listener admits: ‘This great doubt has settled in our heart,’ turning the narrative into a teaching moment.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sincere doubt about dharma and the afterlife should be openly stated so it can be resolved through authoritative teaching.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as the opening of a doctrinal clarification within the Tīrthamāhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces a question-answer sequence.