Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

भक्ष्यतां भक्ष्यतां शीघ्रं मम नाशाय संस्थिताम् । सांप्रतं मन्मुखे तेनं रुधिरं पन्नगोत्तमाः

Transliteration

bhakṣyatāṃ bhakṣyatāṃ śīghraṃ mama nāśāya saṃsthitām | sāṃprataṃ manmukhe tenaṃ rudhiraṃ pannagottamāḥ

Translation

"Makanlah dia, makanlah dia dengan cepat—dia datang ke sini dengan niat untuk memusnahkanku! Sekarang, wahai ular yang terbaik, kerananya, darah bergenang di mulutku."

Word by Word

• bhakṣyatām: let (her) be eaten
• bhakṣyatām: Vidhi (Injunctive/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (भक्ष्)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), कर्मणि-प्रयोगः; तृतीय-पुरुष, एकवचन; ‘let (her) be eaten’

• bhakṣyatām: let (her) be eaten
• bhakṣyatām: Vidhi (Injunctive/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (भक्ष्)
• Form: लोट्, कर्मणि; तृतीय-पुरुष, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphasis)

• śīghram: quickly
• śīghram: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śīghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nāśāya: for (my) destruction
• nāśāya: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थ (for the purpose of destruction)

• saṃsthitām: standing/intent (on it)
• saṃsthitām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (स्था) + sam- (उपसर्ग) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘standing/placed, intent’ (enām implied)

• sāṃpratam: now
• sāṃpratam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāṃprata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• mat-mukhe: in my mouth
• mat-mukhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘mama mukham’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tad: that
• tad: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object)

• rudhiram: blood
• rudhiram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र द्वितीया (object)

• pannaga-uttamāḥ: best of serpents
• pannaga-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pannaga (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘uttamāḥ pannagāḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A frantic figure cries out to coiled nāgas, urging them to devour; the mouth is smeared with blood, eyes wide; serpents rise with flared hoods, while the ascetic woman remains poised, hinting at an unseen protective radiance.

Characters & Entities

• pannaga (serpents)
• Bhaṭṭikā (implied by episode context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hostility toward a tapasvinī rebounds; spiritual power (tapas) makes aggression self-destructive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.