Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 166

Devanagari script

क्वासौ सा दुहिता केन हृता नष्टा मदीयिका । अथासौ वीक्षितुं बाह्ये बभ्राम स्ववनांतिकम्

Transliteration

kvāsau sā duhitā kena hṛtā naṣṭā madīyikā | athāsau vīkṣituṃ bāhye babhrāma svavanāṃtikam

Translation

'บุตรสาวของข้าอยู่ที่ไหน ใครเป็นผู้พานางไป ทำให้นางหายไปจากข้า?' จากนั้น เขาก็เดินเตร็ดเตร่ออกไปข้างนอกเพื่อค้นหา โดยวนเวียนอยู่ใกล้ป่าของตนเอง

Word by Word

• क्व: where?
• क्व: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb of place)

• असौ: that (person/one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सामान्य, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थ सर्वनाम

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

• दुहिता: daughter
• दुहिता: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुहितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• केन: by whom?
• केन: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• हृता: taken away/abducted
• हृता: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृ (धातु) → हृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle)

• नष्टा: lost/vanished
• नष्टा: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नश् (धातु) → नष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय (gone/lost)

• मदीयिका: my (dear)
• मदीयिका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; स्वत्ववाचक (possessive)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरवाचक-अव्यय (then/now)

• असौ: he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• वीक्षितुम्: to look for/see
• वीक्षितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), क्रियार्थक

• बाह्ये: outside
• बाह्ये: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; देशवाचक

• बभ्राम: wandered/roamed
• बभ्राम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• स्ववनान्तिकम्: near his own forest
• स्ववनान्तिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + वन + अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य वनस्य अन्तिकम्)

Speaker

Narrator (within the same episode)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn, the brāhmaṇa father rushes out, distraught, scanning the grove and paths near his home; trees and undergrowth frame his frantic movement.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārgava (father, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma harms not only the doer but also families and communities; suffering spreads outward through attachment and loss.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; it remains within the broader Tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.