Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

ततो वैराग्यमापन्नः सुप्तोऽहं भग्नमंदिरे । तानि पद्मानि भूपृष्ठे निधाय सह भार्यया

Transliteration

tato vairāgyamāpannaḥ supto'haṃ bhagnamaṃdire | tāni padmāni bhūpṛṣṭhe nidhāya saha bhāryayā

Translation

അപ്പോൾ വൈരാഗ്യം പിടിച്ച ഞാൻ തകർന്ന ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ഉറങ്ങിപ്പോയി; ഭാര്യയോടൊപ്പം ആ പദ്മങ്ങൾ നിലത്തുവെച്ചു.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्) — then

• vairāgyam: dispassion; detachment
• vairāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• āpannaḥ: having fallen into; having attained
• āpannaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+pad (धातु) + kta (क्त) → āpanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं भूतकृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; aham इति कर्तरि — ‘having attained/fallen into’

• suptaḥ: asleep
• suptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svap (धातु) + kta (क्त) → supta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं भूतकृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; aham इति विशेष्ये — ‘asleep’

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• bhagna-mandire: in a ruined house/temple
• bhagna-mandire: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘broken’ + ‘house’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• tāni: those
• tāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्; padmāni इति विशेष्येण सह

• padmāni: lotuses
• padmāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्

• bhū-pṛṣṭhe: on the ground; on the earth’s surface
• bhū-pṛṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• nidhāya: having placed
• nidhāya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni+dhā (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्तं अव्ययकृदन्तम्; ‘having placed/put down’

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सहकारार्थक-उपसर्गवत्/निपातः); तृतीया-सहयोगे प्रयुज्यते

• bhāryayā: with (my) wife
• bhāryayā: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/सह), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (a devotee/pilgrim speaking within the Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura (temple precinct within)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crumbling temple with broken pillars; the couple lies asleep on the floor; a small heap of lotuses placed on bare earth; moonlight entering through a broken roof, hinting at impending miracle.

Characters & Entities

• Mandira (temple)
• Bhāryā (wife)
• Padma (lotus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When worldly means collapse, vairāgya arises—often the doorway through which a tīrtha reveals its hidden mercy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse situates the devotee near a temple space in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa region, preceding the Mahākāla-focused scene.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the emphasis is on the pilgrim’s state and setting (a temple precinct).