Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

यस्या मन्यामहे चित्ते वह्निमध्यगता वयम् । भक्षयामः किमेतान्हि पक्षिणो विविधानपि । हंसादीन्मधुरालापान्किं वा चाप्सरसां गणान्

Transliteration

yasyā manyāmahe citte vahnimadhyagatā vayam | bhakṣayāmaḥ kimetānhi pakṣiṇo vividhānapi | haṃsādīnmadhurālāpānkiṃ vā cāpsarasāṃ gaṇān

Translation

มันรุนแรงถึงเพียงว่าในใจเรารู้สึกราวกับอยู่กลางกองไฟ แล้วเราจะกินอะไรได้เล่า—นกนานาชนิดเหล่านี้ แม้หงส์เสียงหวานและอื่น ๆ หรือแม้แต่หมู่อัปสราทั้งหลาย?

Word by Word

• yasyāḥ: of whom/whose
• yasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• manyāmahe: we think/consider
• manyāmahe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: man (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद

• citte: in the mind
• citte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• vahni-madhya-gatāḥ: gone into the midst of fire
• vahni-madhya-gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम्-धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (past passive participle)

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्य-प्रयोग), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhakṣayāmaḥ: we eat/devour
• bhakṣayāmaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• kim: why?/what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• etān: these
• etān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतु-सूचक

• pakṣiṇaḥ: birds
• pakṣiṇaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (वैकल्पिक-रूप; ‘pakṣiṇān’ अर्थे)

• vividhān: various
• vividhān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव

• haṃsādīn: swans and the like
• haṃsādīn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘haṃsa-ādi’ = हंस-प्रभृतीन्

• madhura-ālāpān: sweet-calling (birds) / sweet-voiced ones
• madhura-ālāpān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhura (प्रातिपदिक) + ālāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (sweet = of the calls)

• kiṃ: or what?/why?
• kiṃ: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• apsarasām: of the apsarases
• apsarasām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• gaṇān: groups
• gaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic inner-heat tableau: figures in celestial attire appear as if surrounded by flames (metaphorical), eyes wide with desperation; nearby swans and peacocks remain serene; apsarases stand at a distance, shocked—contrast between purity and predatory impulse.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Haṃsas (swans)
• Apsarases

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral hunger is depicted as an inner fire, implying that only proper dharmic offerings—rather than heavenly luxuries—can truly satisfy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this specific verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not stated directly, but the logic supports tarpaṇa/śrāddha as the appropriate ‘food’ for Pitṛs.