Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

विषादो जायते भूयो गुणैरेतैर्नराधिप । अशक्ताः प्रेतयोगाद्वै सर्वस्य शुभकर्मणः

Transliteration

viṣādo jāyate bhūyo guṇairetairnarādhipa | aśaktāḥ pretayogādvai sarvasya śubhakarmaṇaḥ

Translation

ହେ ନରାଧିପ! ଏହି ‘ଗୁଣ’ ଦ୍ୱାରା ତ ଅଧିକ ବିଷାଦ ବଢ଼େ; କାରଣ ପ୍ରେତ-ଯୋଗର ବନ୍ଧନରୁ ଆମେ ସମସ୍ତ ଶୁଭକର୍ମ କରିବାରେ ଅଶକ୍ତ ହେଉଛୁ।

Word by Word

• viṣādaḥ: despondency
• viṣādaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣāda (विषाद-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• jāyate: arises
• jāyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (जन्-धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada

• bhūyaḥ: again/more
• bhūyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (भूयः-अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla/Pramāṇa-avyaya (adverb: again/more)

• guṇaiḥ: by (these) qualities
• guṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (गुण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana; karaṇa/hetu (by/through)

• etaiḥ: by these
• etaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Determiner)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: etad (एतद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana

• narādhipa: O ruler of men
• narādhipa: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara + adhipa (नर-प्रातिपदिक + अधिप-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative), Ekavacana; samāsa: nara + adhipa (ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa)

• aśaktāḥ: incapable
• aśaktāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śakta (अ-शक्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Bahuvacana; viśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective)

• preta-yogāt: due to association with pretas
• preta-yogāt: Apādāna (Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta + yoga (प्रेत-प्रातिपदिक + योग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Pañcamī (5th), Ekavacana; samāsa: preta + yoga (tatpuruṣa); hetu (ablative of cause)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै-अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (emphatic particle)

• sarvasya: of all
• sarvasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka/Pumliṅga (contextual), Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Ekavacana

• śubha-karmaṇaḥ: of auspicious action
• śubha-karmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha + karman (शुभ-प्रातिपदिक + कर्मन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Ekavacana; samāsa: śubhaṃ karma (karmadhāraya)

Speaker

Preta(s) (departed spirits) addressing the king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: narādhipa / king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The pretas confess that sorrow increases due to these ‘advantages’ because, bound to preta-yoga, they cannot perform any auspicious deeds.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Without embodied agency and dharmic capacity, the preta condition blocks auspicious action; compassion through rites and merit becomes essential.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this single verse; the broader chapter frames the discussion within tīrtha-glorification and remedial dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it implies the value of proxy-rituals performed by the living (śrāddha, dāna) for the benefit of the departed.