Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
Devanagari script
पश्य कृत्स्नं धरापृष्ठे शून्यतां समुपस्थितम् । जडत्वान्नृपतेरस्य तस्मात्कुरु यथोचितम्
Transliteration
paśya kṛtsnaṃ dharāpṛṣṭhe śūnyatāṃ samupasthitam | jaḍatvānnṛpaterasya tasmātkuru yathocitam
Translation
पाहा, संपूर्ण धरापृष्ठावर जणू शून्यता आली आहे; या राजाच्या जडत्वामुळे तुम्ही जे योग्य ते करा।
Word by Word
paśyasee/behold
paśya:
Kriyā (Command)
TypeVerb
Root√paś (पश् धातु)
Formलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम
kṛtsnamentire
kṛtsnam:
Karman (Object qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootkṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण
dharā-pṛṣṭheon the earth’s surface
dharā-pṛṣṭhe:
Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
TypeNoun
Rootdharā (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धरायाः पृष्ठम्)
śūnyatāmemptiness/desolation
śūnyatām:
Karman (Object)
TypeNoun
Rootśūnyatā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन
samupasthitamthat has arisen/come about
samupasthitam:
Karman-sāmānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective to śūnyatām)
TypeAdjective
Rootsam + upa + √sthā (स्था धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formभूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; 'समुपस्थितम्' = come/arrived
jaḍatvātdue to dullness/stupidity
jaḍatvāt:
Hetu (Cause)
TypeNoun
Rootjaḍatva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतौ (ablative of cause)
nṛpateḥof the king
nṛpateḥ:
Sambandha (Genitive)
TypeNoun
Rootnṛpati (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन
asyaof this
asya:
Sambandha (Genitive)
TypeNoun
Rootidam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
tasmāttherefore
tasmāt:
Hetu/Anvaya (Inferential adverbial)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formअव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; 'तस्मात्' = therefore (ablative used adverbially)
kurudo
kuru:
Kriyā (Command)
TypeVerb
Root√kṛ (कृ धातु)
Formलोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम
yathā-ucitamas appropriate
yathā-ucitam:
Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyathā (अव्यय) + ucita (प्रातिपदिक)
Formअव्ययीभावः (क्रियाविशेषण): 'यथोचितम्' = as is proper
Speaker
Ministers (addressing Vasiṣṭha)
Visual Art Cues
Scene: Ministers gesture toward a desolate landscape—empty markets, abandoned fields—while the king sits listless; Vasiṣṭha is urged to act.
Characters & Entities
V
VasiṣṭhaK
kingE
earth/realmFAQs
When leadership lacks capacity, society experiences ‘emptiness’—dharma requires timely, appropriate intervention guided by wisdom.
Not named here; the forthcoming instruction highlights Sārasvata Tīrtha in Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.
No explicit rite yet; it urges appropriate remedial action.