Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

प्रेतसंदर्शनं यद्वन्मर्त्यं तत्सा महासती । वीक्षितुं न च शक्रोति गच्छमाना तदा मखे

Transliteration

pretasaṃdarśanaṃ yadvanmartyaṃ tatsā mahāsatī | vīkṣituṃ na ca śakroti gacchamānā tadā makhe

Translation

ดุจมนุษย์ผู้เป็นมรรตย์ทนเห็นเปรตมิได้ ฉันใด มหาสตรีผู้ทรงพรหมจรรย์คือสาวิตรี เมื่อกำลังมุ่งสู่ยัญพิธี ก็ไม่อาจฝืนใจมองสิ่งที่กำลังเกิดขึ้น ณ ที่นั้นได้ ฉันนั้น

Word by Word

• प्रेत: ghost; departed spirit
• प्रेत: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (पूर्वपद)

• संदर्शनम्: sighting; seeing
• संदर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम् + दृश् (धातु) → संदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रेतस्य संदर्शनम्)

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (just as)

• मर्त्यम्: a mortal person
• मर्त्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; निर्देश (that)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• महासती: the great virtuous woman
• महासती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महासती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महती सती)

• वीक्षितुम्: to look at; to see
• वीक्षितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + ईक्ष् (धातु) → वीक्षितुम् (तुमुन्)
• Form: कृदन्त; तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (infinitive): 'to see'

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

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• शक्रोति: is able
• शक्रोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'समर्थो भवति'

• गच्छमाना: going
• गच्छमाना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गच्छत् (शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; 'going'

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• मखे: in the sacrifice; at the ritual
• मखे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Tīrthamāhātmya; specific speaker not present in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sāvitrī, chaste and radiant yet distressed, advances toward the sacrifice but turns her face away, unable to look—her aversion likened to a mortal recoiling from a ghost.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma committed even in a sacred rite becomes so repulsive that the righteous cannot bear to witness it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this shloka excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse references a yajña (sacrificial rite) as the narrative setting.