Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे विप्रो जाबालिर्दुःख संयुतः । अनायातां सुतां ज्ञात्वा परिबभ्राम सर्वतः

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare vipro jābālirduḥkha saṃyutaḥ | anāyātāṃ sutāṃ jñātvā paribabhrāma sarvataḥ

Translation

याच दरम्यान दुःखाने व्याकुळ झालेला ब्राह्मण जाबालि, आपली कन्या परत न आल्याचे जाणून, तिच्या शोधार्थ सर्वत्र भटकू लागला।

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative singular (pronoun)

• अन्तरे: interval/time
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative singular

• विप्रः: the brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative singular

• जाबालिः: Jābāli
• जाबालिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाबालि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative singular (proper name)

• दुःख: with sorrow
• दुःख: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental singular

• संयुतः: afflicted/associated (with)
• संयुतः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + युज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — Masculine, Nominative singular; agreeing with विप्रः/जाबालिः

• अनायाताम्: not come/absent
• अनायाताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्-आ + या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — Feminine, Accusative singular; agreeing with सुताम्

• सुताम्: daughter
• सुताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative singular

• ज्ञात्वा: having learned/knowing
• ज्ञात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — indeclinable gerund ‘having known’

• परिबभ्राम: wandered about
• परिबभ्राम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Perfect, 3rd person singular, active

• सर्वतः: everywhere
• सर्वतः: Desha-adhikarana (Spatial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (दिक्/परिमाणवाचक) — indeclinable adverb ‘everywhere/on all sides’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An elderly brāhmaṇa with matted hair/śikhā and staff, face strained with grief, moving through forest paths and along water edges, calling out; the landscape feels vast, with multiple directions suggested to convey ‘paribabhrāma sarvataḥ’.

Characters & Entities

• Jābāli

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment brings sorrow, yet righteous concern for family becomes a dharmic impetus that drives the story toward the sacred resolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicitly identified in this verse; it belongs to the broader Tīrthamāhātmya setting of Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes Jābāli’s grief and search.