Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

इमं शापं मत्सुतोक्तं तक्षकाहिविदंशनम् । पुनरायाहि शीघ्रं त्वं मत्समीपे महामते

Transliteration

imaṃ śāpaṃ matsutoktaṃ takṣakāhividaṃśanam | punarāyāhi śīghraṃ tvaṃ matsamīpe mahāmate

Translation

คำสาปนี้ที่บุตรของข้ากล่าวไว้ จะนำมาซึ่งพิษร้ายของพญานาคทักษะกะ จงรีบกลับมาหาข้าเถิด ผู้มีปัญญาอันยิ่งใหญ่

Word by Word

• imam: this
• imam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• śāpam: curse
• śāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mat-suta-uktam: spoken by my son
• mat-suta-uktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mat (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) + suta (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त; √vac (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मत्सुतस्य उक्तम्)

• takṣaka-ahi-vidaṃśanam: the biting by the serpent Takṣaka
• takṣaka-ahi-vidaṃśanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: takṣaka (प्रातिपदिक) + ahi (प्रातिपदिक) + vidaṃśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (तक्षकस्य अहेः विदंशनम्/दंशनम्)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• āyāhi: come
• āyāhi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) उपसर्ग-आ + लोट्
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śīghram: quickly
• śīghram: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śīghra (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्ययवत् क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/त्रिलिङ्ग-प्रयोग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mat-samīpe: near me
• mat-samīpe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मम समीपे)

• mahāmate: O great-minded one
• mahāmate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महती मतिः यस्य)

Speaker

Śamīka Ṛṣi (deduced from immediate narrative context: 'evamuktaḥ śamīkena' in the next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra / Setutīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience / interlocutor sages (typical Purāṇic setting)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A messenger warns of a curse: the atmosphere is tense; the unseen threat of Takṣaka is evoked as a shadowy serpent motif; the urgency of returning to the sage is central.

Characters & Entities

• Śamīka
• Śṛṅgī
• Takṣaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A spoken curse (vāk-śakti) in Purāṇic dharma is portrayed as potent and inevitable; urgency and humility are advised when such karmic consequences arise.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it is part of the Setukhaṇḍa narrative frame leading toward the wider sacred geography of Setu.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes immediate action (returning quickly) rather than a stated rite.