Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तासां तु पूर्वया कामं हंति पृच्छाप्रदायिनाम् । द्वितीयया तथा क्रोधं हंति लोभं तृतीयया

Transliteration

tāsāṃ tu pūrvayā kāmaṃ haṃti pṛcchāpradāyinām | dvitīyayā tathā krodhaṃ haṃti lobhaṃ tṛtīyayā

Translation

ان تینوں میں سے پہلی سے جواب دینے والوں کی خواہش دب جاتی ہے؛ دوسری سے غضب فرو ہوتا ہے؛ اور تیسری سے لالچ مٹ جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• tāsām: of those (three)
• tāsām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/विशेष) = adversative/emphatic particle

• pūrvayā: by the first (one)
• pūrvayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (पूर्वा = first)

• kāmam: desire
• kāmam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• hanti: destroys/removes
• hanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्-धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• pṛcchā-pradāyinām: of the questioners
• pṛcchā-pradāyinām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛcchā (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāyin (प्र-दा-धातु, णिनि/इन्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्; समासः = तत्पुरुष (पृच्छां प्रदायिनः = those who give/pose questions)

• dvitīyayā: by the second (one)
• dvitīyayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (second)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Prakāra (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकार/समुच्चय) = ‘thus/likewise’

• krodham: anger
• krodham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• hanti: destroys/removes
• hanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन्-धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• lobham: greed
• lobham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्

• tṛtīyayā: by the third (one)
• tṛtīyayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (third)

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pṛcchā-pradāyinaḥ (those who answer/respond) and the brāhmaṇa assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic triad: three calming seals/gestures applied to the assembly—first dissolving desire (soft white light), second cooling anger (blue शांत aura), third loosening greed (golden knots untied). Respondents become composed and truthful.

Characters & Entities

• kāma
• krodha
• lobha
• tālatraya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual etiquette is also moral training: structured giving restrains desire, anger, and greed, preserving purity in sacred deliberations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies the dharmic culture of the Brahmaśālā/tīrtha assembly by showing how it curbs inner faults.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The ‘tālatraya’ is a threefold offering/token, each part intended to pacify a specific fault—kāma, krodha, and lobha.