Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

एवं शापे श्रिया दत्ते हाहाकारो महानभूत् । सर्वेषां तत्र संस्थानां कोपश्चापि द्विजन्मनः

Transliteration

evaṃ śāpe śriyā datte hāhākāro mahānabhūt | sarveṣāṃ tatra saṃsthānāṃ kopaścāpi dvijanmanaḥ

Translation

ครั้นเมื่อพระศรี (พระลักษมี) ทรงประกาศคำสาปดังนี้ ก็เกิดเสียงร่ำไห้โกลาหลยิ่งนัก ผู้ที่ชุมนุมอยู่ ณ ที่นั้นต่างสะท้านหวั่นไหว และทวิชะ (พราหมณ์) ก็พลันกริ้วโกรธด้วย

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• śāpe: when the curse (was)
• śāpe: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘शापे (सति)’—सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध (locative absolute nuance)

• śriyā: by Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• śriyā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• datte: given/uttered
• datte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute complement/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dā (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘given/uttered’ (agreeing with śāpe)

• hāhākāraḥ: a cry of lamentation
• hāhākāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāhākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• mahān: great
• mahān: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying hāhākāraḥ)

• abhūt: arose/occurred
• abhūt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• saṃsthānām: of those assembled/present
• saṃsthānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘स्थितानाम्’ अर्थे (those present/assembled)

• kopaḥ: anger
• kopaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha to clause (Additive particle/अपि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = ‘also/even’ (particle)

• dvijanmanaḥ: of the twice-born (brahmin)
• dvijanmanaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvijanman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘द्विजन्मन्’ = ब्राह्मणः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-style narration within Māhātmya prose-verse flow)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowded hall erupts—women and men cry out; brāhmaṇas rise in anger; Śrī’s curse hangs in the air like a palpable force.

Characters & Entities

• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• dvija (brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Speech aligned with dharma has immediate moral force; a curse (śāpa) disrupts the social and ritual atmosphere, reminding listeners to uphold right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly here; the verse describes the communal reaction to a curse.