Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यथा मया गृहं त्यक्तं दृष्ट्वा सर्पविचेष्टितम् । गृहारंभः सुदुःखाय सुखाय न कदाचन

Transliteration

yathā mayā gṛhaṃ tyaktaṃ dṛṣṭvā sarpaviceṣṭitam | gṛhāraṃbhaḥ suduḥkhāya sukhāya na kadācana

Translation

سانپ کی چال ڈھال دیکھ کر میں نے گھر چھوڑ دیا؛ کیونکہ گھر بسانا اور اسے سنبھالنا بڑے دکھ کا سبب ہے، سچے سکھ کا کبھی نہیں۔

Word by Word

• yathā: as/how
• yathā: Sambandha (Clause linker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; yathā-śabda (as/how) introducing explanation

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Tṛtīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• gṛham: house
• gṛham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• tyaktam: abandoned
• tyaktam: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (क्त), Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; agrees with 'gṛham'

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + tvā (त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वान्त/त्वान्त), indeclinable verbal form; pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)

• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: the snake’s activity/behavior
• sarpa-viceṣṭitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + viceṣṭita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa: sarpa-viceṣṭitam; Napuṃsaka-linga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; object of 'dṛṣṭvā'

• gṛha-ārambhaḥ: undertaking of a house (house-building)
• gṛha-ārambhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + ārambha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa: gṛhārambhaḥ; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• su-duḥkhāya: for great sorrow
• su-duḥkhāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya-like formation: su-duḥkha (very painful); Napuṃsaka-linga, Caturthī-vibhakti (4th/चतुर्थी), Ekavacana; dative of purpose/result

• sukhāya: for happiness
• sukhāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka-linga, Caturthī-vibhakti, Ekavacana; dative of purpose

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; niṣedha (negation particle)

• kadācana: ever/at any time
• kadācana: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācana (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla-avyaya (temporal adverb)

Speaker

An ascetic/renunciate narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya dialogue (speaker not explicitly named in the provided snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A person witnesses a serpent’s movements in/around a house and, struck by insight, abandons the home, declaring household undertaking leads to sorrow, not true happiness.

Characters & Entities

• Sarpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Household attachment easily becomes bondage; discernment (viveka) turns one toward liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is ethical instruction within a tīrtha-context; the particular pilgrimage site is not specified in this shloka alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is mentioned; the instruction is renunciatory and contemplative.