Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तस्मादेतन्महाक्षेत्रं संप्राप्य त्वां व्यवस्थितम् । परलोकाय संत्यज्य कथं गच्छाम्यहं गृहम्

Transliteration

tasmādetanmahākṣetraṃ saṃprāpya tvāṃ vyavasthitam | paralokāya saṃtyajya kathaṃ gacchāmyahaṃ gṛham

Translation

ฉะนั้น เมื่อมาถึงมหาเขตศักดิ์สิทธิ์นี้ และเห็นท่านตั้งมั่นเพื่อโลกหน้าแล้ว ข้าจะละท่านเพื่อปรโลก แล้วกลับเรือนได้อย่างไร

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Ablative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगवत्; तस्मात् = तस्माद् (ablatival adverb) ‘therefore/from that’

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• महाक्षेत्रम्: great sacred place
• महाक्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (‘महद् क्षेत्रम्’)

• संप्राप्य: having reached
• संप्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) ‘having reached’

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• व्यवस्थितम्: resolved/settled
• व्यवस्थितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) + वि + अव (उपसर्ग)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘settled/decided/standing’ (agreeing with implied ‘चित्तम्/मनः’ or situation)

• परलोकाय: for the next world
• परलोकाय: Sampradana (Purpose/Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘परः लोकः’)

• संत्यज्य: having abandoned
• संत्यज्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) ‘having abandoned’

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative adverb)

• गच्छामि: do I go
• गच्छामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• गृहम्: home
• गृहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

The Brahmin’s wife (devoted wife, speaking to her husband)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: husband (resolved for paraloka)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a vast sacred landscape, the wife gestures toward the kṣetra around them, questioning how she could return home when her husband is fixed on the beyond; the scene carries the gravity of a final decision.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma in a tīrtha is tested through loyalty, compassion, and steadfast commitment, not merely physical departure or vows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A “mahākṣetra” within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya is being praised; the verse highlights the sanctity of the place as a setting for decisive spiritual resolve.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the focus is on the ethical-spiritual resolve associated with staying in a sacred kṣetra.