Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अस्या दोषेण पापाया मृतश्च स महीपतिः । तथा राष्ट्रस्य विध्वंसे भविष्यति पुरः क्षयः

Transliteration

asyā doṣeṇa pāpāyā mṛtaśca sa mahīpatiḥ | tathā rāṣṭrasya vidhvaṃse bhaviṣyati puraḥ kṣayaḥ

Translation

“Do lỗi của người phụ nữ tội lỗi này mà nhà vua đã băng hà; và cùng với sự sụp đổ của vương quốc, thành phố này chắc chắn cũng sẽ lụi tàn.”

Word by Word

• asyāḥ: of her
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• doṣeṇa: by the fault
• doṣeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• pāpāyāḥ: of the sinful woman
• pāpāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahīpatiḥ: the king (lord of the earth)
• mahīpatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mahīyāḥ patiḥ); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• rāṣṭrasya: of the kingdom
• rāṣṭrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• vidhvaṃse: in the destruction
• vidhvaṃse: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhvaṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• bhaviṣyati: will occur
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puraḥ: soon / beforehand
• puraḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘in front/soon/before’)

• kṣayaḥ: ruin, destruction
• kṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation; reporting citizens’ lament)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard frame, not explicit in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A distressed city court or assembly: citizens accuse a woman of causing the king’s death; ominous signs over the palace and city walls suggest impending ruin.

Characters & Entities

• mahīpati (king)
• rāṣṭra (kingdom)
• pura (city)
• viṣakanyā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives show how perceived moral fault and misfortune become linked in public mind, urging a turn toward dharma, expiation, and sacred protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it expresses the crisis that the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya will resolve in subsequent context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.