Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

विवस्त्रा सापि तत्रैव खिन्नांगी कामसेवया । न शशाक क्वचिद्गंतुं समुत्थाय ततः क्षितौ

Transliteration

vivastrā sāpi tatraiva khinnāṃgī kāmasevayā | na śaśāka kvacidgaṃtuṃ samutthāya tataḥ kṣitau

Translation

นางถูกทิ้งไว้ที่นั่นโดยปราศจากเสื้อผ้า ร่างกายอ่อนล้าจากการเสพสมกามารมณ์ ไม่สามารถลุกขึ้นจากพื้นและไปที่ใดได้เลย

Word by Word

• विवस्त्रा: naked, unclothed
• विवस्त्रा: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि- वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Nominative singular); नञ्-तुल्य उपसर्गार्थः ‘विवस्त्र’ = वस्त्ररहित (without clothes)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक (also/even)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb: there)

• एव: indeed, right there
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed/just)

• खिन्नाङ्गी: with exhausted limbs, weary-bodied
• खिन्नाङ्गी: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खिन्न (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Nominative singular); बहुव्रीहिः—खिन्नानि अङ्गानि यस्याः सा (one whose limbs are exhausted)

• कामसेवया: due to sexual indulgence
• कामसेवया: Karana (Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + सेवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Instrumental singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कामस्य सेवा)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• शशाक: was able
• शशाक: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम् (3rd person singular)

• क्वचित्: anywhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Scope/location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक (anywhere/at any time)

• गन्तुम्: to go
• गन्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive); गमनक्रियायाः उद्देश्य (to go)

• समुत्थाय: having risen
• समुत्थाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-उत्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘समुत्थाय’ = having risen up

• ततः: from there, thereafter
• ततः: Apadana/Sequence (Source/sequence/अपादान-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम् (from there/thereafter)

• क्षितौ: on the ground
• क्षितौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Locative singular)

Speaker

Narrator (purāṇic narrative voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A woman lies or sits collapsed on the earth, unclothed and exhausted, hair disheveled, gaze vacant with shock; the landscape feels indifferent—open ground near a grove—inviting the next act of rescue or sacred intervention.

Characters & Entities

• the woman (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma brings immediate suffering and loss of dignity; the Purāṇas portray this to deter harm and uphold protection of the vulnerable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it serves the moral arc within the larger tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.