Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

यत्र यज्ञे प्रविष्टेयं गर्हिता पंचभर्तृका । भवानपि हविर्वह्ने यत्त्वं गृह्णासि लौल्यतः

Transliteration

yatra yajñe praviṣṭeyaṃ garhitā paṃcabhartṛkā | bhavānapi havirvahne yattvaṃ gṛhṇāsi laulyataḥ

Translation

ในยัญญะที่สตรีผู้ถูกติเตียนผู้มีสามีห้าคนนั้นเข้าไปนั้น แม้ท่านด้วย—โอ้อัคนี ผู้แบกหวิษ—ก็รับเครื่องบูชาเพราะความโลภ

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक अव्यय) — relative adverb ‘where’

• यज्ञे: in the sacrifice
• यज्ञे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-viś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — past passive participle ‘entered’

• इयम्: this (woman)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun

• गर्हिता: censured
• गर्हिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garh (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘censured/condemned’

• पञ्चभर्तृका: having five husbands
• पञ्चभर्तृका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक) + bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ka (क-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘having five husbands’; समासः (तत्पुरुषः: पञ्चानां भर्तॄणां सम्बन्धिनी)

• भवान्: you (sir)
• भवान्: Sambodhana/Prathama (Addressed subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — honorific pronoun ‘you’

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘also/even’

• हविर्वह्ने: O carrier of oblations (Agni)
• हविर्वह्ने: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक) + vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative; समासः (तत्पुरुषः: हविः वहति इति)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — relative pronoun ‘that which’ (object)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — 2nd person pronoun

• गृह्णासि: you accept
• गृह्णासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन — ‘you take/accept’

• लौल्यतः: out of greed
• लौल्यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: laulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘out of greed/through fickleness’

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing Agni as havirvah)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacrificial arena: Agni rising from the kuṇḍa, priests and patrons present; a woman labeled ‘pañcabhartṛ’ enters/stands near the rite; the atmosphere is tense, with a sense of censure and moral imbalance.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havirvah)
• yajña
• pañcabhartṛkā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred functionaries are judged by intention; greed is depicted as corrupting ritual integrity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse focuses on a yajña incident; no tīrtha name appears in the shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it warns against accepting offerings in a compromised rite; it is a critique rather than a positive injunction.