Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

न मां वेत्ति स किं मूढः किं वा मृत्यु मभीप्सते

Transliteration

na māṃ vetti sa kiṃ mūḍhaḥ kiṃ vā mṛtyu mabhīpsate

Translation

“Kẻ ngu ấy không biết ta là ai sao? Hay hắn thật sự khao khát cái chết?”

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), एकवचन, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), उत्तम-पुरुषार्थ (1st person)

• vetti: knows
• vetti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• kim: why/what
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• mūḍhaḥ: a fool, deluded one
• mūḍhaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative)

• kim: why/what
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

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

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative)

• abhīpsate: desires, longs for
• abhīpsate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhīps (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Adhaka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Andhaka sneers: ‘Does he not know who I am, or does he desire death?’—a proud taunt that foreshadows his impending humiliation.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ego blinds discernment; challenging divine order out of pride is portrayed as courting destruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this line; it functions within the broader Kāśī–Kailāsa sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.