Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अथाब्रवीच्च तं प्राप्य कस्मात्त्वं प्रस्थितो नृप । पाणिग्रहमकृत्वा तु मम कन्यासमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

athābravīcca taṃ prāpya kasmāttvaṃ prasthito nṛpa | pāṇigrahamakṛtvā tu mama kanyāsamudbhavam

Translation

Тогда, приблизившись к нему, некто сказал: «О царь, почему ты отправился в путь, не совершив обряда брака — взятия за руку (пани-грахи) — с моей дочерью?»

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• abravīt: said
• abravīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of prāpya/abravīt)

• prāpya: having approached
• prāpya: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्/क्त्वा-अर्थे अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund: having reached/approached)

• kasmāt: why/from what reason
• kasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ (ablative: ‘from what reason/why’)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• prasthitaḥ: have departed
• prasthitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि (have set out)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• pāṇigraham: hand-taking (marriage rite)
• pāṇigraham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi-graha (प्रातिपदिक; पाणि + ग्रह)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of akṛtvā)

• akṛtvā: without doing
• akṛtvā: Kriya (Prior action—negated/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक क्त्वा-अव्ययकृदन्त (negative gerund); ‘not having done’

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (my/of me)

• kanyā-samudbhavam: (regarding) my daughter’s origin/occurrence
• kanyā-samudbhavam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā-samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक; कन्या + समुद्भव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म/विषय (object/complement; ‘my daughter’s origin/occurrence’—contextual)

Speaker

Unspecified (likely the girl’s father/guardian within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A local elder/guardian confronts the departing king near the kṣetra boundary, questioning why he left without the pāṇigraha rite; gestures of appeal and reproach.

Characters & Entities

• Daśārṇādhipati (addressed as nṛpa)
• Ratnavatī (implied as the daughter)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It foregrounds vivāha-dharma (marriage duty) and the social accountability surrounding sacred rites and promises.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha setting is part of the broader chapter, but this verse does not name a particular site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāṇigrahaṇa—the formal ‘hand-taking’ rite that completes the marriage ceremony.