Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

ततो बटुकरूपेण संप्राप्तो गालवो मया । संसारस्य विरक्तोऽहं करिष्यामि मह्त्तपः

Transliteration

tato baṭukarūpeṇa saṃprāpto gālavo mayā | saṃsārasya virakto'haṃ kariṣyāmi mahttapaḥ

Translation

ତାପରେ ବଟୁକରୂପ ଧାରଣ କରି ମୁଁ ଗାଲବଙ୍କ ନିକଟକୁ ଗଲି ଏବଂ କହିଲି—‘ମୁଁ ସଂସାରରୁ ବିରକ୍ତ; ମହାତପ କରିବି।’

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sequence marker (क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रम/कारणवाचक) = “then/thereupon”

• baṭukarūpeṇa: in the form of a boy
• baṭukarūpeṇa: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baṭuka + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: “baṭukasya rūpam” (form of a boy/novice)

• saṃprāptaḥ: arrived
• saṃprāptaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-āp (धातु) → saṃprāpta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past participle) used predicatively; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थ: “(I) arrived”

• gālavaḥ: Gālava
• gālavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gālava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartr̥/Instrument (कर्ता/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• saṃsārasya: of worldly existence
• saṃsārasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• viraktaḥ: detached
• viraktaḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-raj (धातु) → virakta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (to aham)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kariṣyāmi: I will perform
• kariṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: कृ (to do/perform)

• mahat: great
• mahat: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (to tapaḥ)

• tapaḥ: austerity/penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

An unnamed narrator (speaking to Gālava) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A youthful brahmacārin with shaven/tonsured head and deer-skin or simple cloth approaches sage Gālava seated by a sacred fire; the youth speaks of detachment and great austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Baṭuka
• Brahmacarya (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External renunciation can be feigned; Purāṇic narratives caution that true vairāgya is proven by inner purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Himalayan ascetic landscape is the implied sacred setting supporting tapas and initiation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Austerity (tapas) is declared as an intention, preparing the ground for initiation (dīkṣā) in subsequent verses.