Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

दुःशीलोऽपि बहिश्चक्रे गृहं तस्य पुरस्य च । देवशर्मा यथापूर्वं संत्यक्तः पुरवासिभिः

Transliteration

duḥśīlo'pi bahiścakre gṛhaṃ tasya purasya ca | devaśarmā yathāpūrvaṃ saṃtyaktaḥ puravāsibhiḥ

Translation

ଦୁଃଶୀଳ ମଧ୍ୟ ସେହି ନଗରର ବାହାରେ ତାହାର ଘରକୁ ରଖିଲା; ଏବଂ ଦେବଶର୍ମା ପୂର୍ବବତ୍ ନଗରବାସୀମାନଙ୍କ ଦ୍ୱାରା ପରିତ୍ୟକ୍ତ ହୋଇ ରହିଲା।

Word by Word

• दुःशीलः: Duḥśīla
• दुःशीलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःशील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (masculine nominative singular)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपवाद/अन्वर्थक (particle: even/also)

• बहिः: outside
• बहिः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहिः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb: outside)

• चक्रे: made/placed
• चक्रे: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुषः एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम् (he made/did)

• गृहम्: a house
• गृहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (neuter accusative singular)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (genitive singular: of him/of that)

• पुरस्य: of the city
• पुरस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (neuter genitive singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction: and)

• देवशर्मा: Devaśarman
• देवशर्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + शर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (masculine nominative singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी): ‘देवस्य शर्म’ (proper name)

• यथापूर्वम्: as before
• यथापूर्वम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘as before’

• संत्यक्तः: was abandoned/expelled
• संत्यक्तः: Karta (Subject complement with implied ‘अभवत्’/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + त्यज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (past participle: abandoned)

• पुरवासिभिः: by the inhabitants of the city
• पुरवासिभिः: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक) + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम् (instrumental plural); समासः—तत्पुरुषः: ‘पुरे वासिनः’ (by the city-dwellers)

Speaker

Narrator (implied; likely Sūta in the ongoing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A house physically shifted or marked as outside the city boundary; Devaśarmā stands isolated while townspeople keep distance; Duḥśīla’s disruptive presence contrasts with the community’s collective rejection.

Characters & Entities

• Duḥśīla
• Devaśarmā
• puravāsins (city residents)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma stresses that communal conduct and moral reputation shape one’s standing; abandonment/exclusion is portrayed as a grave worldly consequence of adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework, but this specific line does not name a particular tīrtha; it functions as narrative setup within the sacred-geography chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

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