Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 168

Devanagari script

ततः प्राह निजां भार्यां रहस्ये नृपसत्तम । ज्ञातोऽहं ब्राह्मणैः सर्वैरंत्यजातिसमुद्भवः । देशातरं गमिष्यामि त्वमागच्छ मया सह

Transliteration

tataḥ prāha nijāṃ bhāryāṃ rahasye nṛpasattama | jñāto'haṃ brāhmaṇaiḥ sarvairaṃtyajātisamudbhavaḥ | deśātaraṃ gamiṣyāmi tvamāgaccha mayā saha

Translation

Затем он тайно сказал своей жене: «О лучший из царей, все брахманы узнали, что я рождён из рода антьяджей. Я уйду в другую страну; иди со мной».

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे ‘तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम्’

• prāha: said/spoke
• prāha: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• nijām: his own
• nijām: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भाऱ्याम्)

• bhāryām: wife
• bhāryām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• rahasye: in private/secretly
• rahasye: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rahasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘रहसि’ इत्यर्थे

• nṛpa-sattama: O best of kings
• nṛpa-sattama: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘नृपाणां सत्तमः’

• jñātaḥ: (I am) known/recognized
• jñātaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘ज्ञातः’ = ‘known’

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

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: by the Brahmins
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Agent in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Karaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (ब्राह्मणैः)

• antya-jāti-samudbhavaḥ: born of a low caste
• antya-jāti-samudbhavaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antya (प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी/पञ्चमीभावः) ‘अन्त्यजातितः समुद्भवः’ = ‘born from the lowest caste’; विशेषणम् (अहम्)

• deśa-ataram: to another country/place
• deśa-ataram: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक) + atara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘देशान्तरम्’ (अन्यः देशः)

• gamiṣyāmi: I will go
• gamiṣyāmi: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject of imperative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• āgaccha: come
• āgaccha: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√gam (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mayā: with me
• mayā: Sahārtha/Karaṇa (with)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahārtha (Associative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सह-प्रयोगे उपसर्गवत्/संबन्धसूचक) = indeclinable postposition ‘with’

Speaker

Unnamed man (addressing his wife; narration framed to a king)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (addressed within the narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a secluded chamber, the man confides to his wife that brāhmaṇas have recognized his antyaja birth; he proposes leaving for another land, inviting her to accompany him. The mood is hushed, tense, and sorrowful.

Characters & Entities

• brāhmaṇa
• antyaja
• nṛpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions and identities hidden in society eventually become known; dharma narratives highlight accountability and the consequences of deception or fear.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha-name appears in this verse; it continues the episode within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse focuses on the narrative turn after the brāhmaṇas’ determination.