Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

ऋषय ऊचुः । केन क्षुधाभितप्तानामस्माकं निर्दयात्मना । मृणालानि समस्तानि स्थानादस्माद्धृतानि च

Transliteration

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kena kṣudhābhitaptānāmasmākaṃ nirdayātmanā | mṛṇālāni samastāni sthānādasmāddhṛtāni ca

Translation

ఋషులు అన్నారు—మేము ఆకలితో బాధపడుతున్నప్పుడు, ఏ నిర్దయ హృదయుడు ఈ స్థలంనుండి మా మృణాళాలన్నిటిని తీసుకెళ్లాడు?

Word by Word

• ṛṣayaḥ: the sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘sages’

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘they said’

• kena: by whom
• kena: Karaṇa (Agent-instrument in passive sense/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘by whom?’

• kṣudhā: by hunger
• kṣudhā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by hunger’ (in compound)

• abhitaptānām: of the afflicted
• abhitaptānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-√tap (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘of (us) afflicted’

• asmākam: of us
• asmākam: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; ‘of us’

• nirdayātmanā: by the cruel-hearted (person)
• nirdayātmanā: Karaṇa (Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirdaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (निर्दयः आत्मा यस्य/निर्दयात्मा), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; ‘by the cruel-hearted one’

• mṛṇālāni: lotus-stalks
• mṛṇālāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛṇāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st) / द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; here as object in passive sense: ‘lotus-stalks’

• samastāni: all
• samastāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण of mṛṇālāni ‘all/entire’

• sthānāt: from the place
• sthānāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘from (their) place’

• asmāt: from here/this
• asmāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; ‘from this’

• dhṛtāni: taken away
• dhṛtāni: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective in passive sense/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dhṛ (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘taken/removed’ (agreeing with mṛṇālāni)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A spokesman among the sages raises his hand in accusation; others look distressed and hungry, their gaze fixed on the empty bank where the lotus-stalks had been.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣayaḥ (sages)
• mṛṇāla/bisa (lotus-stalks)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Taking what sustains ascetics—especially in a holy place—is portrayed as cruelty and adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to a Tīrthamāhātmya in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, but this verse alone does not identify the tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the setting implies tīrtha-snānā and austerity supported by simple foods.