Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अनेन वपुषा दारान्वीक्षयिष्यामि तान्कथम् । तादृशेन शरीरेण याभिः संक्रीडितं मया

Transliteration

anena vapuṣā dārānvīkṣayiṣyāmi tānkatham | tādṛśena śarīreṇa yābhiḥ saṃkrīḍitaṃ mayā

Translation

"ज्यांच्याशी मी त्या (पूर्वीच्या) शरीराने क्रीडा केली होती, त्या माझ्या पत्नींकडे मी या (विद्रूप) शरीराने कसे पाहू?"

Word by Word

• anena: with this
• anena: Karaṇa-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying vapuṣā)

• vapuṣā: with (this) body/form
• vapuṣā: Karaṇa (instrument; 'with this body/form')
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• dārān: wife (lit. wives/spouse)
• dārān: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (pluralia tantum)

• vīkṣayiṣyāmi: shall I see/look at
• vīkṣayiṣyāmi: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (co-referential object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; दārān प्रति अन्वयः

• katham: how?
• katham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (manner)

• tādṛśena: with such (a)
• tādṛśena: Karaṇa-viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying śarīreṇa)

• śarīreṇa: with (a) body
• śarīreṇa: Karaṇa (instrument; 'with such a body')
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• yābhiḥ: with whom
• yābhiḥ: Saha/Karaṇa (with whom)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धे (refers to women/wives)

• saṃkrīḍitam: played/sported (with)
• saṃkrīḍitam: Kriyā (implied predicate: 'was played')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + krīḍ (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि (played/sported)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (agent of saṃkrīḍitam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; the afflicted person’s lament within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The man imagines or glimpses his wives at a distance—well-adorned, dignified—while he stands ashamed in ragged clothing; the contrast highlights loss and longing for former life.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment to bodily identity and social status brings shame and sorrow when circumstances change; Māhātmya literature often uses this to point toward inner purification and lasting dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it continues the lament that sets the stage for tīrtha-centered restoration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the implied need is purification and re-establishment of dharma, commonly fulfilled through tīrtha-snāna and charitable acts in subsequent verses.