Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

अथ तां स समादाय प्रविष्टो गहनं वनम् । निर्जलं लज्जयाविष्टो दुःखव्याकुलितेंद्रियः

Transliteration

atha tāṃ sa samādāya praviṣṭo gahanaṃ vanam | nirjalaṃ lajjayāviṣṭo duḥkhavyākuliteṃdriyaḥ

Translation

แล้วเขาพานางไปด้วยและเข้าไปในป่าทึบอันลึก—ไร้น้ำ; ถูกความละอายครอบงำ และอินทรีย์ทั้งหลายกระสับกระส่ายด้วยทุกข์โศก

Word by Word

• अथ: then/thereupon
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/then)

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• समादाय: having taken (along)
• समादाय: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); सम्+आ+दा धातोः; अव्ययभावे क्रियाविशेषणम्

• प्रविष्टः: entered
• प्रविष्टः: Karta (Agent as participial subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे (entered)

• गहनम्: dense, deep
• गहनम्: Karma (Qualifier of object/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• निर्जलम्: without water, waterless
• निर्जलम्: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सः इति कर्तृपदस्य)

• लज्जया: by/with shame
• लज्जया: Karana (Instrument/cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लज्जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• आविष्टः: overcome, possessed
• आविष्टः: Karta (State of subject/कर्तृभाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘आविष्ट’ = आवेशित/ग्रस्त

• दुःखव्याकुलितेन्द्रियः: whose senses were distressed by sorrow
• दुःखव्याकुलितेन्द्रियः: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + व्याकुलित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; वि-आ-कुल्/व्याकुल्) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (दुःखेन व्याकुलितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य)

Speaker

Sūta

Visual Art Cues

Scene: नल दमयन्ती को साथ लिए निर्जल, घने वन में प्रवेश करता है; चेहरा लज्जा से झुका, देह थकी; चारों ओर सूखे वृक्ष, काँटेदार झाड़ियाँ, दूर धूल-भरी पगडंडी।

Characters & Entities

• Nala
• Damayantī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering born of error becomes a turning point: endurance and humility in hardship prepare the seeker for refuge in the divine and in tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting remains the Carmamuṇḍā Devī sthala within Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; this verse advances the story that grounds that site’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the onset of forest-exile and the psychological state of the protagonists.