Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

यंयं शृणोति शब्दं स मृगपक्षिसमुद्भवम् । रजन्यां तत्र निर्याति मत्वा फलवतीं च ताम्

Transliteration

yaṃyaṃ śṛṇoti śabdaṃ sa mṛgapakṣisamudbhavam | rajanyāṃ tatra niryāti matvā phalavatīṃ ca tām

Translation

เสียงใดๆ ที่เขาได้ยิน—เกิดจากกวางหรือหมู่นก—ยามราตรีเขาก็รีบพุ่งไปยังที่นั้น คิดว่าเป็นนาง และหวังว่าจะได้ผลอันสมปรารถนา

Word by Word

• यम्: which
• यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd case), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• यम्: whichever
• यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (yaṃ yaṃ = whichever)

• शृणोति: he hears
• शृणोति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शब्दम्: sound
• शब्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मृगपक्षिसमुद्भवम्: arising from animals and birds
• मृगपक्षिसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्षि (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (मृग-पक्षि-समुद्भवः = arising from deer/birds)

• रजन्याम्: at night
• रजन्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place)

• निर्याति: goes out / sets forth
• निर्याति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्-या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मत्वा: having thought
• मत्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); ‘having thought/considered’

• फलवतीम्: fruitful
• फलवतीम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: फलवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• ताम्: that (one/place)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Narrator (describing Jābāli)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At night, the brāhmaṇa darts toward rustling bushes and distant calls, eyes wide with hope and confusion; silhouettes of deer and birds appear amid moonlit trees.

Characters & Entities

• Jābāli
• mṛga
• pakṣi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hope persists even amid confusion; the Purāṇic seeker keeps moving until the sacred truth is revealed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it continues the forest-search narrative within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive narrative.