Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

अंबापि प्राप्य परमं गांगेयोत्थं पराभवम् । प्रविष्टा कोपरक्ताक्षी सुसमिद्धे हुताशने

Transliteration

aṃbāpi prāpya paramaṃ gāṃgeyotthaṃ parābhavam | praviṣṭā koparaktākṣī susamiddhe hutāśane

Translation

อัมพาเองก็เมื่อประสบความพ่ายแพ้อย่างยิ่งเพราะคางเฆยะ ดวงตาแดงฉานด้วยโทสะ จึงก้าวเข้าสู่ไฟหุตาศนะที่ลุกโชนสว่างไสว

Word by Word

• aṃbā: Ambā
• aṃbā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃbā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Nipāta (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि (also/even)

• prāpya: having obtained
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having obtained/reached’

• paramam: supreme/utter
• paramam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying parābhavam)

• gāṃgeya-uttham: caused by Gāṅgeya
• gāṃgeya-uttham: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāṃgeya (प्रातिपदिक) + uttha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (gāṃgeyāt uttham = arising from Gāṅgeya)

• parābhavam: defeat/humiliation
• parābhavam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parābhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• praviṣṭā: entered
• praviṣṭā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + viś (धातु) + kta
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि (she entered)

• kopa-rakta-akṣī: with eyes reddened by anger
• kopa-rakta-akṣī: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक) + rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (whose eyes are red with anger)

• su-samiddhe: in the well-kindled
• su-samiddhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + samiddha (प्रातिपदिक; kta from √indh ‘to kindle’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying hutāśane)

• hutāśane: fire (sacrificial fire)
• hutāśane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hutāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ambā, eyes red with wrath, steps into a blazing sacrificial fire; flames rise high, casting stark light, while the air is heavy with tragedy and resolve.

Characters & Entities

• Ambā
• Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma)
• Hutāśana (Fire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse portrays intense resolve and the transformative (and dangerous) power of passion when directed toward fate and retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is narrative background within the same Adhyāya 57 kṣetra account; the specific tīrtha name is not stated in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescriptive rite; it narrates Ambā’s entry into fire (self-immolation motif).