Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 106

Devanagari script

यत्पापं शस्त्रकर्तृणां तथा वह्निप्रदायिनाम् । तन्मे स्याद्यदि नो हन्मि सर्पं दृष्टिवशं गतम्

Transliteration

yatpāpaṃ śastrakartṛṇāṃ tathā vahnipradāyinām | tanme syādyadi no hanmi sarpaṃ dṛṣṭivaśaṃ gatam

Translation

ശസ്ത്രം നിർമ്മിക്കുന്നവരുടെയും ഹാനിക്കായി അഗ്നി കൊളുത്തുന്നവരുടെയും പാപം—എന്റെ ദൃഷ്ടിവശമായി വന്ന സർപ്പത്തെ ഞാൻ വധിക്കാതിരുന്നാൽ, അത് എനിക്കു വരട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• शस्त्रकर्तृणाम्: of weapon-makers / those who wield weapons (as doers)
• शस्त्रकर्तृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्र-कर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक; शस्त्र + कर्तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘शस्त्र’ = weapon + ‘कर्तृ’ = maker/doer

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यताबोधक-अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• वह्निप्रदायिनाम्: of those who give/provide fire (arsonists)
• वह्निप्रदायिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि-प्रदायिन् (प्रातिपदिक; वह्नि + प्रदायिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘वह्नि’ = अग्नि (fire) + ‘प्रदायिन्’ = दाता (giver)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• मे: to me / for me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th), एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक-अव्यय

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• हन्मि: I kill
• हन्मि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सर्पम्: the snake
• सर्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दृष्टिवशम्: under (my) gaze’s control
• दृष्टिवशम्: Karma (Object-complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृष्टि-वश (प्रातिपदिक; दृष्टि + वश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गतम्: gone/come (into that state)
• गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice; likely a vow-like utterance within the tīrtha episode)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serpent near dry brush and a torch—suggesting the danger of fire—while the protector stands ready; in the background, a smithy silhouette hints at weapon-making as a condemned act.

Characters & Entities

• sarpa (serpent)
• vahni (fire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It equates negligence in a critical moment with severe societal harms, stressing dharma as active responsibility, not mere abstention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 29); the verse itself does not specify the tīrtha name in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is directly stated; the verse functions as a moral-legal avowal within the māhātmya’s story context.