Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

कुसुम्भस्य परित्यागान्नैव पश्येद्यमाल यम् । केशरस्य परित्यागान्मनुष्यो राजवल्लभः

Transliteration

kusumbhasya parityāgānnaiva paśyedyamāla yam | keśarasya parityāgānmanuṣyo rājavallabhaḥ

Translation

کُسُمبھ (کُسُم پھول کا رنگ) کا ترک کرنے سے یم کے آشیانے کا دیدار نہیں ہوتا۔ زعفران کا ترک کرنے سے انسان بادشاہوں کا محبوب بن جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• कुसुम्भस्य: of safflower (kusumbha)
• कुसुम्भस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुसुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठीविभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• परित्यागात्: from renunciation/abstaining
• परित्यागात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परि-त्याग (प्रातिपदिक; त्यज्-धातुजन्य भावनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमीविभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• एव: indeed/at all
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• पश्येत्: would see
• पश्येत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यमम्: Yama (lord of death)
• यमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आलयम्: abode
• आलयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘यम-आलयम्’ इति समासार्थः (यमस्य आलयम्)

• केशरस्य: of saffron (kesara)
• केशरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठीविभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• परित्यागात्: from renunciation/abstaining
• परित्यागात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परि-त्याग (प्रातिपदिक; त्यज्-धातुजन्य भावनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमीविभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• मनुष्यः: a man/person
• मनुष्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• राज-वल्लभः: dear to the king
• राज-वल्लभः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वल्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (राज्ञः वल्लभः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee rejects bright kusumbha-dyed cloth and saffron; Yama’s dark city recedes like a dissolving vision; a king or royal court offers respectful regard to the humble pilgrim.

Characters & Entities

• Yama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renouncing vanity and luxury items is praised as a dharmic restraint that protects from painful after-death states and brings honor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named; the teaching is framed as general Cāturmāsya discipline within a Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abstain from kusumbha-dye and saffron as part of a vow, with stated spiritual and social results.