Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

पलायनपरा ये च पृष्ठदेशे हता मृताः

Transliteration

palāyanaparā ye ca pṛṣṭhadeśe hatā mṛtāḥ

Translation

又有那些一心逃遁者，被从背后击中而亡，背负创伤而死…

Word by Word

• पलायनपराः: intent on fleeing
• पलायनपराः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पलायन + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (inclined to fleeing); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ये)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• पृष्ठदेशे: in the rear area; at the back
• पृष्ठदेशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृष्ठ + देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• हताः: killed
• हताः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मृताः: dead
• मृताः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇu (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā (contextual, by continuity)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brief, poignant battlefield vignette: warriors in retreat, one struck from behind, evoking fear and tragedy rather than glory; the scene serves as a moral-emotional counterpoint to heroic death.

Characters & Entities

• Fallen warriors

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma distinguishes deaths by intention and circumstance; fleeing in battle is morally and ritually evaluated differently.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this half-verse; the surrounding discourse includes Gayā and the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription appears in this fragment; it introduces a category relevant to later śrāddha rules.