Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा मुनिश्रेष्ठो हारीतः स्वाश्रमं ययौ । सापि पूर्णकला जाता शिलारूपा च तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | evamuktvā muniśreṣṭho hārītaḥ svāśramaṃ yayau | sāpi pūrṇakalā jātā śilārūpā ca tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

Сута сказал: «Сказав так, лучший из мудрецов, Харита, возвратился в свой ашрам. И она тоже в то же мгновение стала вполне совершенной и приняла облик камня».

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta (narrator)
• सूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: thus)

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + त्वा (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having said)

• मुनिश्रेष्ठः: the best of sages
• मुनिश्रेष्ठः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः: मुनिषु श्रेष्ठः (best among sages)

• हारीतः: Hārīta
• हारीतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हारीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्वाश्रमम्: to his own hermitage
• स्वाश्रमम्: Karma (Goal/object of motion/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; समासः: स्वस्य आश्रमः (his own hermitage)

• ययौ: went
• ययौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थ (particle: also/even)

• पूर्णकला: complete in all parts; fully endowed
• पूर्णकला: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण + कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying सा)

• जाता: became
• जाता: Kriya (Predicative verbal notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भावे (became/was born)

• शिलारूपा: stone-formed; in the form of a rock
• शिलारूपा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिला + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः: शिलायाः रूपम् यस्याः (having the form of stone)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• तत्क्षणात्: at that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय (immediately; from that moment)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates: Hārīta departs to his hermitage; simultaneously, the woman/figure becomes ‘pūrṇa-kalā’ and turns into stone—captured mid-transformation, with a sacred stillness settling over the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Hārīta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic narratives stress that moral transgression can lead to immediate, tangible consequences, shaping sacred memory and place-based traditions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse does not name the tīrtha, but it belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha-glorification sequence where such events anchor sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a narrative transition (Sūta’s report) marking a transformation event.