Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अथाऽसौ तं समालोक्य सुलघुं सर्प पुत्रकम् । जलसर्पमिति ज्ञात्वा लगुडेन व्यपोथयत्

Transliteration

athā'sau taṃ samālokya sulaghuṃ sarpa putrakam | jalasarpamiti jñātvā laguḍena vyapothayat

Translation

Melihat anak ular yang sangat kecil itu, disangkanya hanya ular air, lalu dipukulnya dengan kayu belantan.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक (then)

• असौ: that man/he
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तम्: him/that one
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• समालोक्य: having looked at
• समालोक्य: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + आलोक्/लोक् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having looked at)

• सुलघुम्: very small/light
• सुलघुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + लघु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to सर्पपुत्रकम्)

• सर्पपुत्रकम्: a young snake (snake-child)
• सर्पपुत्रकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + पुत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्पस्य पुत्रकः)

• जलसर्पम्: a water-snake
• जलसर्पम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (जले सर्पः / जलसम्बन्धी सर्पः)

• इति: as/that
• इति: Sambandha (quotative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देश/विचारसूचक (thinking/that it is)

• ज्ञात्वा: having recognized
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having known/recognizing)

• लगुडेन: with a club/stick
• लगुडेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लगुड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करणम् (instrument)

• व्यपोथयत्: struck/beaten
• व्यपोथयत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अप + उथ्/उथय् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense (पोथयति = strikes/beats)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual narrator in Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: tīrtha (tīra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa, startled, raises a club and strikes a tiny serpent-child at the water’s edge; the act is framed as tragic misidentification—‘water-snake’ versus nāga-prince.

Characters & Entities

• Kratha
• Rudramāla (serpent-child)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ignorance joined with pride leads to himsā; in a tīrtha context, such wrongdoing becomes especially grave and karmically potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nāgatīrtha, where the act of violence becomes the turning point of the māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts a prohibited act (violent striking), implying the dhārmic ideal of ahiṃsā.