Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

कारा संतानकूटस्य संसारवनवागुरा । स्वर्गमार्गमहागर्ता पुंसां स्त्री वेधसा कृता

Transliteration

kārā saṃtānakūṭasya saṃsāravanavāgurā | svargamārgamahāgartā puṃsāṃ strī vedhasā kṛtā

Translation

विधात्याने पुरुषांसाठी स्त्रीला संतानसमूहाचा कारागृह, संसाररूपी वनातील जाळे आणि स्वर्गाच्या मार्गातील मोठा खड्डा म्हणून निर्माण केले आहे.

Word by Word

• kārā: a prison
• kārā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• saṃtāna-kūṭasya: of the peak of progeny/lineage
• saṃtāna-kūṭasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtāna (प्रातिपदिक) + kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (saṃtānasya kūṭaḥ)

• saṃsāra-vana-vāgurā: a snare in the forest of worldly existence
• saṃsāra-vana-vāgurā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + vana (प्रातिपदिक) + vāgurā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (saṃsāravana-viṣayā vāgurā)

• svarga-mārga-mahā-gartā: a great pit on the path to heaven
• svarga-mārga-mahā-gartā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + mārga (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + gartā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (svargamārge mahā gartā)

• puṃsām: of men
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pumān (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• strī: woman
• strī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vedhasā: by the Creator (Brahmā)
• vedhasā: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vedhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषनाम (Brahmā/Creator)

• kṛtā: made/created
• kṛtā: Kriyā (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि (made/created)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator voice in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler on a bright ‘svarga-path’ approaches a hidden pit; nearby a dense forest labeled saṃsāra holds nets and traps; a prison-like enclosure is formed from a ‘heap of progeny’ as symbolic stones or cradles stacked high.

Characters & Entities

• Vedhā (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment and entanglement are portrayed as bondage; one should pursue dharma with restraint and aim for liberation beyond worldly nets.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is mentioned in the verse; it is part of the moral-philosophical framing within the Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal statement using strong imagery.