Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

यत्र यज्ञे प्रविष्टेयं गर्हिता पंचभर्तृका । भवानपि हविर्वह्ने यत्त्वं गृह्णासि लौल्यतः

Transliteration

yatra yajñe praviṣṭeyaṃ garhitā paṃcabhartṛkā | bhavānapi havirvahne yattvaṃ gṛhṇāsi laulyataḥ

Translation

Trong lễ tế mà người đàn bà bị chê trách là ‘có năm chồng’ đã bước vào, chính ngươi nữa—hỡi Agni, Đấng mang lễ vật—đã nhận phẩm cúng vì lòng tham.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक अव्यय) — relative adverb ‘where’

• यज्ञे: in the sacrifice
• यज्ञे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-viś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — past passive participle ‘entered’

• इयम्: this (woman)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun

• गर्हिता: censured
• गर्हिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garh (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘censured/condemned’

• पञ्चभर्तृका: having five husbands
• पञ्चभर्तृका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक) + bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + ka (क-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘having five husbands’; समासः (तत्पुरुषः: पञ्चानां भर्तॄणां सम्बन्धिनी)

• भवान्: you (sir)
• भवान्: Sambodhana/Prathama (Addressed subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — honorific pronoun ‘you’

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘also/even’

• हविर्वह्ने: O carrier of oblations (Agni)
• हविर्वह्ने: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक) + vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — vocative; समासः (तत्पुरुषः: हविः वहति इति)

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — relative pronoun ‘that which’ (object)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — 2nd person pronoun

• गृह्णासि: you accept
• गृह्णासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन — ‘you take/accept’

• लौल्यतः: out of greed
• लौल्यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: laulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘out of greed/through fickleness’

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing Agni as havirvah)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacrificial arena: Agni rising from the kuṇḍa, priests and patrons present; a woman labeled ‘pañcabhartṛ’ enters/stands near the rite; the atmosphere is tense, with a sense of censure and moral imbalance.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havirvah)
• yajña
• pañcabhartṛkā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred functionaries are judged by intention; greed is depicted as corrupting ritual integrity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse focuses on a yajña incident; no tīrtha name appears in the shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it warns against accepting offerings in a compromised rite; it is a critique rather than a positive injunction.