Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

अथ सख्यः समागत्य तस्या दुःखेन दुःखिताः । शशंसुस्ता यथावृत्तं रुदन्त्यो मम सूतज

Transliteration

atha sakhyaḥ samāgatya tasyā duḥkhena duḥkhitāḥ | śaśaṃsustā yathāvṛttaṃ rudantyo mama sūtaja

Translation

ครั้นแล้วสหายสตรีทั้งหลายมาชุมนุม ต่างเศร้าโศกด้วยความทุกข์ของนาง และร่ำไห้เล่าเหตุการณ์ทั้งหมดแก่เราโดยถ้วนถี่ โอ บุตรแห่งสารถี

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Adhikarana (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थे

• सख्यः: female friends
• सख्यः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• समागत्य: having come
• समागत्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ (उपसर्गौ) + √गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); अव्ययभाव (having come together)

• तस्या: of her
• तस्या: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दुःखेन: by/with sorrow
• दुःखेन: Karana (Cause/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन

• दुःखिताः: distressed
• दुःखिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier of 'sakhyaḥ')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःखित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √खिद् with दुḥ-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कृदन्त-विशेषण (distressed)

• शशंसुः: reported, told
• शशंसुः: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √शंस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ताः: they (those women)
• ताः: Karta (Reinforcement of subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (referring to the friends)

• यथावृत्तम्: as it happened
• यथावृत्तम्: Karma (Content of telling)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + वृत्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √वृत्)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (as it happened)

• रुदन्त्यः: weeping
• रुदन्त्यः: Kriya-vishesana (Concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √रुद् (धातु) → रुदन्त् (शतृ-कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सूतज: O son of the charioteer
• सूतज: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सूतस्य जः = son of the charioteer)

Speaker

Sūta (framed narration; direct address ‘mama sūtaja’ indicates a listener within the story)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: “sūtaja”

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of women companions, eyes swollen with tears, rush to the husband and narrate the incident; their gestures show urgency and sorrow; background hints of the forest path.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• companions (sakhyaḥ)
• sūtaja (listener epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sorrow is communal and prompts dharmic response—seeking proper rites, counsel, and sacred means for relief.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; the tīrtha context is broader than the single line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it introduces the report that leads to subsequent actions.