Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

एवमन्नक्षये जाते पीडिते धरणीतले । सप्तर्षयः क्षुधाविष्टा बभ्रमुस्तत्रतत्र च

Transliteration

evamannakṣaye jāte pīḍite dharaṇītale | saptarṣayaḥ kṣudhāviṣṭā babhramustatratatra ca

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ അന്നക്ഷയം സംഭവിച്ച് ഭൂമിതലം പീഡിതമായപ്പോൾ, വിശപ്പാൽ ആകുലരായ സപ്തർഷിമാർ ഇടം ഇടമായി അലഞ്ഞുതിരിഞ്ഞു।

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: thus)

• anna-kṣaye: in the depletion of food
• anna-kṣaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (anna-kṣaya: depletion of food)

• jāte: when (it) had occurred
• jāte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• pīḍite: when (it) was afflicted
• pīḍite: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• dharaṇī-tale: on the earth's surface
• dharaṇī-tale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharaṇī-tala: surface of the earth)

• sapta-ṛṣayaḥ: the seven sages
• sapta-ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta (संख्या) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural); समासः—द्विगुः (sapta-ṛṣi: seven sages)

• kṣudhā-viṣṭāḥ: afflicted by hunger
• kṣudhā-viṣṭāḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣudhā (प्रातिपदिक) + √viś (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (tṛtīyā/hetu-artha: afflicted by hunger); कृदन्तः—क्त (viṣṭa: entered/possessed)

• babhramuḥ: wandered/roamed
• babhramuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• tatra-tatra: here and there
• tatra-tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्ययम् (reduplicated adverb: here and there)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; unspecified in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Seven sages, thin from fasting and famine, walking in a line across a scorched plain, carrying kamaṇḍalus and staffs, searching for sustenance and a sacred refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Saptarṣi (Seven Sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the greatest ascetics face worldly trials; dharma is tested most sharply during famine and distress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets the narrative backdrop within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the specific tīrtha is developed in the surrounding passage rather than named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the crisis (annakṣaya) that leads to later dharma-instruction.