Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

न करिष्यथ चेद्वाक्यमेतदस्मदुदीरितम् । सर्वाः प्राणपरित्यागं करिष्यामो न संशयः

Transliteration

na kariṣyatha cedvākyametadasmadudīritam | sarvāḥ prāṇaparityāgaṃ kariṣyāmo na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

اگر تم ہماری کہی ہوئی اس ہدایت پر عمل نہیں کرو گے، تو ہم سب اپنی جانیں دے دیں گے—اس میں کوئی شک نہیں ہے۔

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) = negation particle

• kariṣyatha: you will do
• kariṣyatha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/conditional particle) = if

• vākyam: the statement/command
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (demonstrative)

• asmat-udīritam: uttered by us
• asmat-udīritam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asmat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + udīrita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘अस्मद्’ षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (by us) + ‘उदीरित’ (उद्+ईर्/ईर् धातोः क्त/क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle)

• sarvāḥ: all (we women)
• sarvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• prāṇa-parityāgam: abandoning life; giving up the breath
• prāṇa-parityāgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + parityāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्राणानां परित्यागः)

• kariṣyāmaḥ: we will do
• kariṣyāmaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: no/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Sambandha (Predicate nominal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in the excerpt (women of the Damayanty narrative, addressing the brahmins/sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Women or petitioners confront authorities with a solemn vow: if the instruction is not followed, they will renounce life—faces resolute, atmosphere tense, sacred waterbody nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• Damayantī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Firm resolve in dharma and truth is portrayed as powerful—even life itself is offered to uphold a moral demand.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The wider passage belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa (Tīrthamāhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a moral ultimatum within the narrative.