Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

कथयामास तत्सर्वं दमयंत्याः समुद्भवम् । वृत्तांतं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठास्तस्याः शापसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

kathayāmāsa tatsarvaṃ damayaṃtyāḥ samudbhavam | vṛttāṃtaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāstasyāḥ śāpasamudbhavam

Translation

برگزیدہ برہمنوں نے دمیانتی سے وابستہ اس سارے واقعے کو بیان کیا کہ یہ سب کیسے پیدا ہوا، اور اس پر نازل ہونے والی بددعا کی پوری روداد بھی سنائی۔

Word by Word

• कथयामास: told, narrated
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• दमयंत्याः: of Damayantī
• दमयंत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दमयन्ती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन (singular)

• समुद्भवम्: origin, arising
• समुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• वृत्तान्तम्: account, narrative
• वृत्तान्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्तान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: the best of the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (nominative), बहुवचन (plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brāhmaṇānāṃ śreṣṭhāḥ)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन (singular)

• शापसमुद्भवम्: the origin arising from a curse
• शापसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाप + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śāpasya samudbhavaḥ)

Speaker

Narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya (exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame) / or the immediate royal audience (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of venerable brāhmaṇas recounts Damayantī’s curse-origin story to attentive listeners; palm-leaf manuscripts, sacrificial implements, and a solemn atmosphere of disclosure.

Characters & Entities

• Damayantī
• Brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas preserve dharma through remembered exemplars: recounting curse-origins teaches ethical causality and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is praised in this verse; it supplies narrative background within the tīrtha chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse focuses on narration of events and the curse’s origin.