Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

नगरं स तदा देशमप्राक्षीदिति विस्मितः । जना ऊचुः । न जानीमो वयं भूपमिंद्रद्युम्नं न तत्पुरम्

Transliteration

nagaraṃ sa tadā deśamaprākṣīditi vismitaḥ | janā ūcuḥ | na jānīmo vayaṃ bhūpamiṃdradyumnaṃ na tatpuram

Translation

他惊异地询问那城与那地。众人答道：“我们不知有名为因陀罗昙那的国王，也不知他的那座城。”

Word by Word

• nagaram: the city
• nagaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-visheshaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• deśam: the region
• deśam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• aprākṣīt: he asked
• aprākṣīt: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√prach (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक निपात (quotative particle)

• vismitaḥ: astonished
• vismitaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√smi (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण of saḥ

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• jānīmaḥ: we know
• jānīmaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग (Pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• bhūpam: the king
• bhūpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• indradyumnam: Indradyumna
• indradyumnam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indradyumna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); apposition to bhūpam

• na: nor/not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• tat-puram: that city
• tat-puram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad-pura (प्रातिपदिक; तत् + पुर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Narrator; quoted speech by the townspeople

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indradyumna questions townspeople in a marketplace; faces show polite confusion. The king’s astonishment contrasts with the crowd’s ordinary indifference, emphasizing the gulf between personal memory and public history.

Characters & Entities

• Indradyumna
• Kāmpilya (contextual setting)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even great royal fame can vanish from human memory; only dharma and divine connection endure beyond time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is praised here; the verse stresses historical forgetting rather than pilgrimage merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.