Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 155

Devanagari script

ग्रामाणां मम लिंगस्य ये करिष्यंति पीडनम् । कालांतरेऽपि संप्राप्तास्ते यास्यंति च संक्षयम्

Transliteration

grāmāṇāṃ mama liṃgasya ye kariṣyaṃti pīḍanam | kālāṃtare'pi saṃprāptāste yāsyaṃti ca saṃkṣayam

Translation

ଯେମାନେ ମୋର ଲିଙ୍ଗକୁ କିମ୍ବା (ଏହି ସ୍ଥାନ ପାଇଁ) ଦତ୍ତ ଗ୍ରାମଗୁଡ଼ିକୁ ପୀଡ଼ା ଦେବେ, ସେମାନେ ପରବର୍ତ୍ତୀ କାଳରେ ଆସିଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଶେଷରେ ବିନାଶକୁ ପ୍ରାପ୍ତ ହେବେ।

Word by Word

• grāmāṇām: of the villages
• grāmāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

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

• liṅgasya: of the liṅga
• liṅgasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kariṣyanti: will do
• kariṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pīḍanam: harm/oppression
• pīḍanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīḍana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kālāntare: at a later time
• kālāntare: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कालस्य अन्तरम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (Additive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• saṃprāptāḥ: having come/arrived (to that time)
• saṃprāptāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-prāp (धातु) + kta (क्त) → saṃprāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; te (understood) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yāsyanti: will go/meet with
• yāsyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃkṣayam: destruction/ruin
• saṃkṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator/guardian voice issuing a protective warning for the sthala and endowments)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālamaṇḍanaka (associated kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: would-be violators attempt to seize village lands or damage the liṅga; the kṣetra’s protective force turns against them, leading to their decline and desolation.

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga
• Endowed villages (grāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites and their supports (endowments, villages, ritual systems) are to be protected; violating them brings destructive karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The warning pertains to the Bālamaṇḍanaka tīrtha complex and its liṅga and endowed villages.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is a dharmic prohibition against harming the liṅga or the villages dedicated to its service.