Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

तीर्थयात्रापरो विप्रो ब्रह्मचर्यपरायणः । भोजनार्थं समामन्त्र्य नीतोऽवस्थामिमां ततः

Transliteration

tīrthayātrāparo vipro brahmacaryaparāyaṇaḥ | bhojanārthaṃ samāmantrya nīto'vasthāmimāṃ tataḥ

Translation

‘ข้าเป็นพราหมณ์ผู้มุ่งมั่นในการจาริกสู่ทีรถะ และตั้งมั่นในพรหมจรรย์ เขาเชิญข้าด้วยข้ออ้างเรื่องอาหาร แล้วพามาสู่สภาพอันน่าเวทนานี้’

Word by Word

• तीर्थयात्रापरः: devoted to pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्रापरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थयात्रा + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तीर्थयात्रायां परः = devoted to pilgrimage

• विप्रः: the brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘brahmin’

• ब्रह्मचर्यपरायणः: steadfast in celibacy
• ब्रह्मचर्यपरायणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मचर्य + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ब्रह्मचर्ये परायणः = wholly devoted to celibacy

• भोजनार्थम्: for eating/for food
• भोजनार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोजन + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भोजने अर्थः = for the purpose of food

• समामन्त्र्य: having invited
• समामन्त्र्य: Kriya (Non-finite verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ√मन्त्र् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्यय; ‘having invited/asked’

• नीतः: was led
• नीतः: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नी (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘was led’

• अवस्थाम्: condition
• अवस्थाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘state/condition’

• इमाम्: this
• इमाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘this’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal adverb/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); ‘then/thereupon’

Speaker

Puṣpa (continuing his statement; inferred from narrative flow)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa pilgrim, with travel staff and water-pot, speaks of his vow of brahmacarya and how he was lured by an invitation to eat; the crowd’s faces show shame and anger at the breach of hospitality.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and brahmacarya are upheld as virtues; deceiving a righteous pilgrim violates dharma and invites retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra / Puṣpāditya Māhātmya setting in Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage) is presented as the speaker’s dharmic practice.