Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

किं त्वं शक्र निरु त्साहस्तेजोद्युतिविवर्जितः । शरीरात्तव दुर्गन्धः कस्मादीदृक्प्रजायते

Transliteration

kiṃ tvaṃ śakra niru tsāhastejodyutivivarjitaḥ | śarīrāttava durgandhaḥ kasmādīdṛkprajāyate

Translation

ഹേ ഇന്ദ്രാ! നീ എന്തുകൊണ്ടാണ് ഉത്സാഹരഹിതനും തേജസ്സും കാന്തിയും ഇല്ലാത്തവനുമായിരിക്കുന്നത്? നിന്റെ ശരീരത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഇങ്ങനെയൊരു ദുർഗന്ധം വരുന്നത് എന്തുകൊണ്ടാണ്?

Word by Word

• किम्: why/what
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थकं (interrogative)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• शक्र: O Śakra
• शक्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• निरुत्साहः: without enthusiasm
• निरुत्साहः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + उत्साह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (त्वम्)

• तेजोद्युतिविवर्जितः: devoid of splendor and radiance
• तेजोद्युतिविवर्जितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजस् + द्युति + वि-वर्जित (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; तेजसा द्युत्या च विवर्जितः), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (त्वम्)

• शरीरात्: from (your) body
• शरीरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative), एकवचनम्

• तव: your
• तव: Shashthi-sambandha (Possession/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), एकवचनम्

• दुर्गन्धः: bad smell, stench
• दुर्गन्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• कस्मात्: from what cause, why
• कस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थकं

• ईदृक्: such, like this
• ईदृक्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश्/ईदृक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; विशेषणम् (प्रकारवाचक) (दुर्गन्धः)

• प्रजायते: arises, is produced
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Diti (addressing Śakra/Indra)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Diti, attentive and probing, gestures toward Indra’s dimmed aura; Indra’s face is downcast, his usual brilliance muted, suggesting an unseen moral stain.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra
• Indra
• Diti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Loss of tejas (spiritual-luminous vitality) and even bodily distress are portrayed as effects that demand honest self-inquiry and dharmic accountability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse occurs within the Tīrthamāhātmya of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa (Adhyāya 22); the immediate line is part of a dialogue framing the tīrtha narrative rather than naming the site directly in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse; it focuses on diagnosis of a spiritual-moral condition.