Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

कस्माद्भास्कर मेरोस्त्वं प्रकरोषि प्रदक्षिणाम् । कुलपर्वतसंज्ञेऽपि न करोषि कथं मयि

Transliteration

kasmādbhāskara merostvaṃ prakaroṣi pradakṣiṇām | kulaparvatasaṃjñe'pi na karoṣi kathaṃ mayi

Translation

விந்தியன் கூறினான்— “ஓ பாஸ்கரா! நீ ஏன் மேருவைச் சுற்றிப் பிரதட்சிணை செய்கிறாய்? நானும் ‘குலபர்வதம்’ எனப் புகழ்பெற்றவன்; எனை ஏன் அவ்வாறு பிரதட்சிணை செய்யவில்லை?”

Word by Word

• kasmāt: why, from what reason
• kasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग-सम्भव, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; हेतुवाचक (from what cause/why)

• bhāskara: O Bhāskara (Sun)
• bhāskara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• meroḥ: of Meru
• meroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

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

• prakaroṣi: you do, you perform
• prakaroṣi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kṛ (कृ) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• pradakṣiṇām: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• kulaparvata-saṃjñe: in the (status) called ‘Kulaparvata’
• kulaparvata-saṃjñe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula-parvata (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (कुलपर्वतस्य संज्ञा), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘in the designation/name of Kulaparvata’

• api: even, although
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपि-कार (concessive/also/even)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• karoṣi: you do
• karoṣi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• katham: how, why
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (interrogative adverb)

• mayi: in me / with respect to me
• mayi: Adhikaraṇa (Object of reference/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

Speaker

Vindhya-parvata (personified Vindhya Mountain)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vindhya, personified, points toward distant Meru while confronting the radiant Sun: a courtroom-like cosmic dispute in the open sky.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara (Sūrya)
• Meru
• Vindhya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Status and honor must align with dharma and cosmic order; pride that demands worship can disturb the world’s harmony.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage sits in a tīrtha-māhātmya setting, framing Meru and Vindhya as sacred mountains within Purāṇic sacred geography rather than naming a single bathing-tīrtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) is referenced as an act of honor and dharmic alignment, though no vow or bathing rite is prescribed in this verse.