Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

वंशोच्छेदं समासाद्य नरकं स प्रयास्यति । एतस्मात्कारणाद्भीता न कुर्वंति नरा भुवि

Transliteration

vaṃśocchedaṃ samāsādya narakaṃ sa prayāsyati | etasmātkāraṇādbhītā na kurvaṃti narā bhuvi

Translation

വംശനാശം സംഭവിച്ചാൽ അവൻ നരകത്തിലേക്കു പോകും. അതുകൊണ്ടു ഭയന്ന് ഭൂമിയിലെ മനുഷ്യർ ആ അനുചിതകർമ്മം ചെയ്യാറില്ല.

Word by Word

• vaṃśa-ucchedam: destruction of lineage
• vaṃśa-ucchedam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक) + uccheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वंशस्य उच्छेदः)

• samāsādya: having reached
• samāsādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√sad (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘समासाद्य’ = सम्यक् आसाद्य (having reached/attained)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• prayāsyati: will go
• prayāsyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• etasmāt: from this
• etasmāt: Apādāna (Source/Cause-from/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāraṇāt: because of the reason
• kāraṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• bhītāḥ: afraid
• bhītāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhī)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (नराः)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• kurvanti: do
• kurvanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rātrinātha-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed as ‘saddvijāḥ’ in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: a man hesitating at a sacred precinct, elders warning him; behind, a symbolic vision of lineage fading and a dark naraka abyss, contrasted with the luminous kṣetra boundary.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka
• Vaṃśoccheda
• Candra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred acts must be done with purity and correctness; irreverent or rule-breaking religiosity is portrayed as spiritually dangerous.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The warning belongs to the same Candra/Soma shrine māhātmya context; it regulates conduct around that sacred undertaking.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition-by-warning: do not perform the Candra-prāsāda undertaking ‘anyathā’ (improperly), due to severe stated consequences.