Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ततः सोऽपि समायातस्तस्य स्वप्ने महीपतेः । तेनैव प्रेतरूपेण दुःखेन महता वृतः

Transliteration

tataḥ so'pi samāyātastasya svapne mahīpateḥ | tenaiva pretarūpeṇa duḥkhena mahatā vṛtaḥ

Translation

Rồi người ấy cũng đến với nhà vua trong giấc mộng—hiện đúng hình dạng một preta, bị bao phủ bởi nỗi khổ đau dữ dội.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: सम्बन्ध/काल-निर्देश
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/अनुक्रमवाचक (temporal/sequence adverb)

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अपि: also
• अपि: समुच्चय/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle) — ‘also/even’

• समायातः: having come, arrived
• समायातः: क्रिया-विशेषण/विधेय (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + या (धातु) → समायात (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त, past passive participle) from √या ‘to go’ with उपसर्ग सम्+आ; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• स्वप्ने: in (a) dream
• स्वप्ने: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• महीपतेः: of the king
• महीपतेः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; समासः: मही + पति (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• तेन: by/with that (same)
• तेन: करण/सह (Instrument/association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: निपात (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• प्रेतरूपेण: in the form of a preta (departed spirit)
• प्रेतरूपेण: करण/आकार-निर्देश (Instrument of manner/form)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; समासः: प्रेतस्य रूपम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• दुःखेन: with suffering
• दुःखेन: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• महता: great
• महता: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying दुःखेन)

• वृतः: enveloped, surrounded
• वृतः: विधेय (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (धातु) → वृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त, past passive participle) from √वृ ‘to cover/envelop’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Nāgara Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night scene: the king asleep in a palace chamber; in the dream-space a gaunt preta-form appears, shadowed and trembling, wrapped in an aura of suffering, reaching out as if pleading.

Characters & Entities

• Vidūratha (king, implied by context)
• Preta (departed spirit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering in the preta-state is portrayed as real and urgent, prompting compassionate dharmic action by the living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets up a tīrtha-context but does not yet name the site; the location is specified later in the dialogue.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it introduces the dream-vision that leads to a later prescription.