Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

परमर्मप्रकाशश्च सद्यःपापसमा गमः । चातुर्मास्ये हरौ सुप्ते परनिन्दां विवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

paramarmaprakāśaśca sadyaḥpāpasamā gamaḥ | cāturmāsye harau supte paranindāṃ vivarjayet

Translation

മറ്റൊരാളുടെ ഗൂഢമർമ്മം വെളിപ്പെടുത്തുന്നത് ഉടൻ പാപസഞ്ചയം വരുത്തുന്നു. അതിനാൽ ചാതുർമാസ്യത്തിൽ, ഹരി ശയനത്തിലാണെന്ന് പറയുന്ന വേളയിൽ, പരനിന്ദ ഒഴിവാക്കണം.

Word by Word

• पर-मर्म-प्रकाशः: revealing another’s secrets/weak points
• पर-मर्म-प्रकाशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + मर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (परस्य मर्म; तस्य प्रकाशः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सद्यः-पाप-समागमः: immediate association with sin
• सद्यः-पाप-समागमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सद्यः पापस्य समागमः = immediate contact with sin)

• चातुर्मास्ये: during Cāturmāsya
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (time-locative)

• हरौ: when/while Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• सुप्ते: being asleep
• सुप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (Past Passive Participle) ‘सुप्त’; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमीविभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘हरौ’ इति विशेषण (locative absolute sense)

• पर-निन्दाम्: slander of others
• पर-निन्दाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + निन्दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (परस्य निन्दा)

• विवर्जयेत्: should avoid
• विवर्जयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-वृज्/वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hari reclining in yoganidrā on Śeṣa during monsoon; in the foreground devotees keep silence and turn away from a whispering gossip circle, symbolically sealing lips and guarding secrets.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Guarding speech—avoiding betrayal of confidences and slander—is a core discipline that preserves purity during sacred time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is a moral injunction within Māhātmya literature and does not name a specific tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During Cāturmāsya (Hari’s yoganidrā period), refrain from paranindā (slander) and from exposing others’ secrets.