Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

यावन्न चास्य पापस्य करिष्यामि प्रतिक्रियाम् । तद्वदध्वं महाभागा देवो वा देवताऽथवा

Transliteration

yāvanna cāsya pāpasya kariṣyāmi pratikriyām | tadvadadhvaṃ mahābhāgā devo vā devatā'thavā

Translation

“Chừng nào ta chưa thực hiện nghi thức sám hối–chuộc tội đúng pháp cho tội lỗi này, xin các bậc cao quý hãy nói cho ta biết—nên đến nương tựa một vị thần (deva) hay một vị thiên thần (devatā) nào?”

Word by Word

• yāvat: until, as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-शब्दः (until/as long as)

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• asya: of this/his
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pāpasya: of the sin
• pāpasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• kariṣyāmi: I will do
• kariṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• pratikriyām: remedy, expiation
• pratikriyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratikriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; अत्र ‘तत्’ = ‘तत् (विषयम्)’

• vadadhvam: tell (you all)
• vadadhvam: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन

• mahā-bhāgāḥ: O fortunate ones
• mahā-bhāgāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘महाभाग’

• devaḥ: a god
• devaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता-रूपेण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• devatā: a deity
• devatā: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता-रूपेण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or else)

Speaker

Puṣpa (inferred; continuing after 157.1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (episode context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (implied) Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Puṣpa, composed yet intense, asks the gathered people to tell him the proper remedial course—whether to approach a specific god or deity; the crowd listens attentively, indicating a turn from social conflict to sacred solution.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma insists on pratikriyā—setting right what was wrong—before accepting personal comfort or closure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting remains the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya stream within Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pratikriyā (a remedial/atoning act) is explicitly demanded, though the specific rite is not yet specified in this verse.