Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

य एष श्रूयते रावो विभ्रमं जनयन्मम । किंवा पिकसमुत्थो ऽयं किं वा मे दयितोद्भवः

Transliteration

ya eṣa śrūyate rāvo vibhramaṃ janayanmama | kiṃvā pikasamuttho 'yaṃ kiṃ vā me dayitodbhavaḥ

Translation

此刻所闻之啼声，令我心神迷乱：是出自杜鹃（pīka），抑或竟似由我所爱之人而生？

Word by Word

• यः: which/that (sound)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक (demonstrative pronoun)

• श्रूयते: is heard
• श्रूयते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• रावः: cry, call, sound
• रावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• विभ्रमम्: confusion, delusion
• विभ्रमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• जनयन्: producing, causing
• जनयन्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: janay (धातु, णिजन्त causative of jan)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी; विशेषणरूपेण (participial)

• मम: of me, my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• किंवा: or else
• किंवा: Sambandha/Disjunction (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or else)

• पिकसमुत्थः: arisen from a cuckoo
• पिकसमुत्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pika + samuttha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पिकस्य समुत्थः)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Predicate/Question (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक (interrogative)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Disjunction (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (or)

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• दयितोद्भवः: arising from (my) beloved
• दयितोद्भवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dayita + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दयितस्य उद्भवः)

Speaker

Narrated in Sūta’s discourse (a lamenting man within the story-episode)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler in a forest pauses, head tilted, listening to an unseen call; branches frame the sky, and a distant cuckoo silhouette suggests ambiguity—sound as a phantom of the beloved.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta (as narrator address: sūtanaṃdana context nearby)
• Beloved (priyā/dayitā)
• Pika (cuckoo)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In separation, the mind projects the beloved everywhere; the verse highlights how attachment creates भ्रम (bewilderment), urging inner steadiness amid emotional turbulence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya framework (Chapter 29), where the larger narrative supports tīrtha-glorification, though this single verse itself focuses on the emotional episode rather than naming a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a narrative lament (pralāpa) rather than an instruction on snāna, dāna, or japa.