Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

ततो वैराग्यमापन्नः प्रभ्रमामि धरातले । गुर्वर्थे न च लेभेऽहं गुरुमात्मावलोकने

Transliteration

tato vairāgyamāpannaḥ prabhramāmi dharātale | gurvarthe na ca lebhe'haṃ gurumātmāvalokane

Translation

پھر میں ویراغیہ میں ڈوب کر زمین پر بھٹکتا رہا؛ مگر آتما کے درشن کی خاطر میں نے گُرو کی تلاش کی، اور مجھے سچا گُرو نہ مل سکا۔

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमबोधक-अव्यय — ‘then’

• वैराग्यम्: dispassion
• वैराग्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैराग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular (dispassion)

• आपन्नः: having attained
• आपन्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आपद् (धातु) + न (क्त/क्तवत्-भाव)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — past participle ‘having attained/entered’ (agreeing with implicit अहम्)

• प्रभ्रमामि: I wander
• प्रभ्रमामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — Present indicative ‘I wander’ (प्र-उपसर्ग)

• धरातले: on the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘on the earth’s surface’

• गुरु-अर्थे: for (finding) a guru
• गुरु-अर्थे: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘in the matter/purpose of a guru’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय — negation

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय — conjunction

• लेभे: I found
• लेभे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्ष/परिपूर्ण), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect ‘I obtained/found’

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular ‘I’

• गुरुम्: a guru
• गुरुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular (guru)

• आत्म-अवलोकने: in self-realization
• आत्म-अवलोकने: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अवलोकन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular ‘in self-seeing/realization’

Speaker

Narrator (a seeker within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; exact speaker not specified in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dispassionate wanderer walks across varied landscapes—desert, forest, riverbank—carrying a staff; his gaze searches for a teacher; distant silhouettes of āśramas and temples suggest an unending quest.

Characters & Entities

• guru
• vairāgya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dispassion may arise from spiritual frustration, but realization requires the meeting of a competent guru and the right path.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it frames the seeker’s inner condition within a tīrtha-māhātmya storyline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse stresses the necessity of a guru for Self-realization.