Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

परं स्त्रीणां स्वभावोऽयं सर्वासां सुरसत्तमाः । अपि सह्यो वज्रपातः सपत्न्या न पुनः कथा

Transliteration

paraṃ strīṇāṃ svabhāvo'yaṃ sarvāsāṃ surasattamāḥ | api sahyo vajrapātaḥ sapatnyā na punaḥ kathā

Translation

然而，噢诸天中最胜者，这便是众女子共同的天性：雷霆之击尚可忍受，唯独“共夫之妻”（同夫之妇）之事，终难容受。

Word by Word

• परम्: exceedingly
• परम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; क्रियाविशेषण (excessively/very)

• स्त्रीणाम्: of women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• स्वभावः: nature; disposition
• स्वभावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वासाम्: of all (women)
• सर्वासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• सुरसत्तमाः: O best of the gods
• सुरसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (सुरेषु सत्तमाः)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-भाव (even)

• सह्यः: endurable
• सह्यः: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sah (धातु) + sahya (कृदन्त, यत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (endurable)

• वज्रपातः: a thunderbolt-strike
• वज्रपातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक) + pāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वज्रस्य पातः)

• सपत्न्या: by a co-wife; with a rival wife
• सपत्न्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapatnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• पुनः: again; further
• पुनः: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar/punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (again/further)

• कथा: talk; mention (is not possible)
• कथा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Gāyatrī (within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: suras (addressed: surasattamāḥ) and assembly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A reflective moment: the speaker generalizes about women’s nature—thunderbolt pain is bearable, but not the presence of a co-wife—set against the backdrop of a divine-sacrificial assembly.

Characters & Entities

• Sura-sattama (addressed)
• Sapatnī (co-wife concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights the destructive intensity of rivalry in domestic life, implying the need for restraint, fairness, and dharmic sensitivity in relationships.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The statement is part of the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya narrative rather than direct tīrtha praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a moral-psychological observation within the story.