Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

अथ तस्य समाचख्युर्वृत्तांतं सर्वतापसाः । यथादृष्टं सुदुःखार्ता सहस्रार्जुनचेष्टितम्

Transliteration

atha tasya samācakhyurvṛttāṃtaṃ sarvatāpasāḥ | yathādṛṣṭaṃ suduḥkhārtā sahasrārjunaceṣṭitam

Translation

अथ सर्वतापसाः सुदुःखार्ताः तस्मै वृत्तान्तं समाचख्युः। यथादृष्टं सहस्रार्जुनचेष्टितं समग्रं न्यवेदयन्॥

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक/आरम्भक (then/now)

• तस्य: of him/to him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• समाचख्युः: they related/told
• समाचख्युः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; सम्-आ- उपसर्गयुक्त

• वृत्तान्तम्: the account/news
• वृत्तान्तम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्तान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• सर्वतापसाः: all the ascetics
• सर्वतापसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (sarve tāpasāḥ = all the ascetics)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/यथार्थवाचक (as, according to)

• दृष्टम्: seen/witnessed
• दृष्टम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘वृत्तान्तम्’ विशेषण (as seen)

• सुदुःखार्ताः: deeply grief-stricken
• सुदुःखार्ताः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + दुःख + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (duḥkhena ārtāḥ = afflicted with sorrow; su- intensifier); विशेषण (qualifying ‘सर्वतापसाः’)

• सहस्रार्जुनचेष्टितम्: the deed of Sahasrārjuna
• सहस्रार्जुनचेष्टितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्रार्जुन + चेष्टित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (PPP) from चेष्ट्/चेष्टय् (to act), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (sahasrārjunasya ceṣṭitam = deed of Sahasrārjuna); ‘वृत्तान्तम्’ विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of ascetics, faces heavy with grief, narrate the witnessed atrocity to the arriving son/brothers; gestures indicate recounting, with a somber hermitage setting.

Characters & Entities

• ascetics (tāpasas)
• Rāma
• Sahasrārjuna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through truthful narration and communal witness; adharma in sacred places must be named and addressed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse does not specify a named tīrtha; it situates the episode within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter that frames the sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces the disclosure of wrongdoing that will lead to subsequent actions and rites.