Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

संसारभ्रमणं नारी प्रथमेपि समागमे । वह्निप्रदक्षिणा व्याजन्यायेनैव प्रदर्शयेत्

Transliteration

saṃsārabhramaṇaṃ nārī prathamepi samāgame | vahnipradakṣiṇā vyājanyāyenaiva pradarśayet

Translation

ആദ്യ സമാഗമത്തിലേ തന്നെ സ്ത്രീ സംസാരഭ്രമണചക്രം പ്രവർത്തിപ്പിക്കാം; പ്രദക്ഷിണയുടെ വ്യാജത്തിൽ അഗ്നിയെ ചുറ്റി തിരിപ്പിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ.

Word by Word

• संसारभ्रमणम्: wandering in saṃsāra
• संसारभ्रमणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक) + भ्रमण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य भ्रमणम्)

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रथमे: in the first
• प्रथमे: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (समागमे)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अप्यर्थक-निपात (even/also)

• समागमे: in meeting/union
• समागमे: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वह्निप्रदक्षिणा: circumambulation of fire
• वह्निप्रदक्षिणा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वह्नेः प्रदक्षिणा)

• व्याजन्यायेन: by the pretext-method/under the guise of a rationale
• व्याजन्यायेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याज (प्रातिपदिक) + न्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (व्याजस्य न्यायः)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle: only/indeed)

• प्रदर्शयेत्: would show/indicate
• प्रदर्शयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Viśvāmitra (continuing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Metaphorical scene: a person circling a sacred fire as in a wedding rite, but the circles transform into a wheel labeled ‘saṃsāra’; the sage reveals the hidden mechanism of bondage.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse warns that desire can begin with a small encounter and quickly lead to continued bondage in saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified; the focus is a dharma-analogy inside the broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it references the familiar act of fire-circumambulation as an illustrative analogy.