Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 113

Devanagari script

यत्पापं साक्ष्यकर्तृणां धान्यसंग्रहकारिणाम् । तन्मे स्याद्यदि नो हन्मि सर्पं दृष्टिवशं गतम्

Transliteration

yatpāpaṃ sākṣyakartṛṇāṃ dhānyasaṃgrahakāriṇām | tanme syādyadi no hanmi sarpaṃ dṛṣṭivaśaṃ gatam

Translation

കള്ളസാക്ഷ്യം പറയുന്നവരുടെയും ധാന്യം ശേഖരിച്ചു കെട്ടിവയ്ക്കുന്നവരുടെയും പാപം എതായാലും, ദൃഷ്ടിവശമായെത്തിയ ഈ സർപ്പത്തെ ഞാൻ വധിക്കാതിരുന്നാൽ അത് എനിക്കാകട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• साक्ष्यकर्तृणाम्: of false witnesses / those who give testimony
• साक्ष्यकर्तृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; (साक्ष्यं करोति इति साक्ष्यकर्ता)

• धान्यसंग्रहकारिणाम्: of hoarders/collectors of grain
• धान्यसंग्रहकारिणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य (प्रातिपदिक) + संग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; (धान्यस्य संग्रहं करोति इति)

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

• मे: of me / to me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

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

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

• न: not
• न: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Negator/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

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

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

• दृष्टिवशम्: under (my) gaze/control
• दृष्टिवशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + वश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गतम्: come/entered
• गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गतम् (कृदन्त; √गम् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The hero vows that the sins of perjurers and grain-hoarders be his if he fails to kill the serpent; nearby, pilgrims and villagers with grain baskets look on, implying the social stakes of protection and fair sustenance.

Characters & Entities

• sarpa (serpent)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It condemns harms to society—corrupting justice and hoarding essentials—presenting dharma as protection of communal order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 29); the specific tīrtha is not named in the excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; however, the critique of hoarding implicitly favors dāna (charitable distribution) as dharmic.