Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ततः सोऽपि महीपालः क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः । दृष्ट्वा तद्व्यसनं प्राप्तमात्मनः सेवकैः समम्

Transliteration

tataḥ so'pi mahīpālaḥ kṣutpipāsāsamākulaḥ | dṛṣṭvā tadvyasanaṃ prāptamātmanaḥ sevakaiḥ samam

Translation

แล้วพระราชาเองก็ถูกความหิวและความกระหายบีบคั้น ครั้นทอดพระเนตรเห็นเคราะห์ร้ายที่บังเกิดแก่เหล่าข้าราชบริพารของพระองค์พร้อมกับพระองค์เอง

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (Temporal/Sequential marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्/adverb): 'ततः' = 'तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम्'

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अपि: also; even
• अपि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): समुच्चय/अपि-भाव

• महीपालः: the king; protector of the earth
• महीपालः: कर्ता (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + पाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मही-पालः = 'भूमेः पालकः')

• क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः: distressed by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासासमाकुलः: विशेषण (Qualifier of कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् + पिपासा + समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषसमासः (क्षुत्पिपासा-समाकुलः = 'क्षुधा-पिपासाभ्यां समाकुलः')

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: पूर्वकालक्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive): 'having seen'

• तत्: that
• तत्: कर्म-विशेषण (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'व्यसनम्' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• व्यसनम्: misfortune; calamity
• व्यसनम्: कर्म (Object of दृष्ट्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यसन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्तम्: having befallen; obtained
• प्राप्तम्: कर्म-विशेषण (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'व्यसनम्' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• आत्मनः: of himself; his own
• आत्मनः: सम्बन्ध (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• सेवकैः: with (his) attendants; by servants
• सेवकैः: सह/साधन (Associative/Instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेवक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• समम्: together; equally
• समम्: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial: together)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययप्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्): 'समम्' = 'सह/समानम्'

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary king in a harsh wilderness, attendants equally stricken; dust, heat-haze, and the king’s anxious gaze upon his suffering retinue.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A ruler’s dharma includes recognizing shared suffering and responding with responsibility; in Purāṇic structure, this realization often precedes turning toward a sacred remedy—tīrtha, worship, or penance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it sets the emotional and ethical ground for the tīrtha’s forthcoming glory in the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.