Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

शृणुष्वाऽवहितो भूत्वा सर्वेषां नः पृथक्पृथक् । कर्मणा येन संजातं प्रेतत्वमिह भूमिप

Transliteration

śṛṇuṣvā'vahito bhūtvā sarveṣāṃ naḥ pṛthakpṛthak | karmaṇā yena saṃjātaṃ pretatvamiha bhūmipa

Translation

Hỡi bậc chúa tể cõi đất, xin hãy lắng nghe chăm chú; ta sẽ kể, từng người một, những nghiệp hạnh khiến mỗi chúng ta ở đây rơi vào thân phận ngạ quỷ (preta).

Word by Word

• शृणुष्व: listen
• शृणुष्व: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (2nd person singular)

• अवहितः: attentive
• अवहितः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवहित (कृदन्त; अव + √धा/√धा? ‘to place/attend’; lexical ‘attentive’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Masculine, nominative singular); भावे/स्थित्यर्थ (attentive)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund: ‘having become’)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all (of us)
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive plural)

• नः: of us/our
• नः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, बहुवचन, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive plural: ‘our/of us’)

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: विभागार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘separately’)

• पृथक्: each one separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• कर्मणा: by (one’s) deed
• कर्मणा: Karana/Hetu (करण/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Neuter, instrumental singular)

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental singular: ‘by which’)

• संजातम्: arisen/produced
• संजातम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संजात (कृदन्त; सम् + √जन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Neuter, nom./acc. singular); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• प्रेतत्वम्: state of being a preta (ghosthood)
• प्रेतत्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत + त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Neuter, nom./acc. singular)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘here/in this world’)

• भूमिप: O king (protector of the earth)
• भूमिप: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि + प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Masculine, vocative singular)

Speaker

Māṃsāda (preta)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages (frame); immediate: king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Māṃsāda prepares to narrate each preta’s past deeds; the king leans forward in attentive listening; the other pretas stand silently, awaiting their turn; the scene feels like a moral tribunal under the forest canopy.

Characters & Entities

• Māṃsāda
• The King

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pretahood is presented as a karmic result; the text frames afterlife states as morally caused and explainable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a site; it introduces a karmic confession within a tīrthamāhātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it prepares for a description of sins and their consequences.