Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अहंकारसमाक्रांता मुनयो विजितेंद्रियाः । धर्ममार्गं परित्यज्य कुर्वत्युन्मार्गजां क्रियाम्

Transliteration

ahaṃkārasamākrāṃtā munayo vijiteṃdriyāḥ | dharmamārgaṃ parityajya kurvatyunmārgajāṃ kriyām

Translation

അഹങ്കാരത്താൽ ആക്രാന്തരായി, ഇന്ദ്രിയജയികളായ മുനിമാരും ചിലപ്പോൾ ധർമ്മമാർഗം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് കുപഥജന്യമായ കർമ്മങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യുന്നു।

Word by Word

• अहंकारसमाक्रान्ताः: overpowered by ego
• अहंकारसमाक्रान्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहंकार + समा-√क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• मुनयः: sages
• मुनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• विजितेन्द्रियाः: having conquered the senses
• विजितेन्द्रियाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-√जि (धातु) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘विजित’ + ‘इन्द्रिय’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• धर्ममार्गम्: the path of dharma
• धर्ममार्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having abandoned’

• कुर्वन्ति: they do, perform
• कुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• उन्मार्गजाम्: born of the wrong path, misguided
• उन्मार्गजाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत् + मार्ग + ज (प्रातिपदिक; ‘उन्मार्ग’ + ‘ज’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्रियाम्: action, rite
• क्रियाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of austere sages with matted hair and deer-skins; a dark, smoky aura labeled ‘ahaṅkāra’ presses upon them as they step off a luminous ‘dharma-mārga’ into a thorny side-path of ‘unmārga-kriyā’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ego is a subtle danger: even advanced practitioners can fall from dharma if ahaṃkāra takes over.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse serves as a cautionary teaching within a tīrtha-oriented chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No positive rite is prescribed; the instruction is to avoid ego-driven ‘wrong-path’ practices and remain aligned with dharma.